DBZ Broken Record
by AnisoulJ93
Summary: Hercule was the last person to see the Z fighters in public. Now a certain organisation want to find the Z-fighters, and Hercule is their only lead. But the organizations motivations are less than pure. Will Videl and Gohan be able to protect Hercule? Au, Videl and Gohan are thirteen. Some credit to Danish-American for summary.
1. Have some Rice

**When I first started writing this fic, I never thought it would get to the point it is now. I had no idea what I was doing when I wrote this chapter. No plot set out, No oc's thought up, nothing. But now I've done twenty odd chapters, have a very vague plot set out in my head and even update every other day. At least four times a week. But anyway, I am now going through each of the chapters and cleaning them up, just like I said I would. So whether your reading this again, as several of you tell me you do, or just now starting, welcome to my fic and I hope you enjoy the read.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own DBZ nor any of its characters.**

Videl Satan, despite being only thirteen years old had a lot to boast about. Her father was the strongest man in the world. She was the strongest kid in the world. She was also a crime fighter despite her young age and held a record of beating down one hundred per cent of the baddies that she thought. So when Videl was walking calmly down the snow covered street, wrapped up warm in a large brown coat and scarf with a white woolly hat, and she heard a scream of "thief", she did not once hesitate to head straight towards it.

Arriving between an ally she immediately saw the cause of the commotion. Some wealthy looking lady dressed up in fake fur and clutching an expensive looking handbag was yelling at some kid with a hoody. The kid had their back to her and the hood was up, so Videl couldn't tell much about them other than they were about her height, and hence a kid.

"What's the problem here," asked Videl, approaching the two. The lady gave her a snarl. "Who the hell are you," She barked. "One of his delinquent fiends?"

'So it's a boy, figures,' thought Videl, catching the woman's use of the word 'he'. "No ma'am. My name is Videl Satan, the daughter of Hercule Satan."

Suddenly the hooded boy's head whipped round to face her. 'Oh, now you're afraid,' she thought.

She still couldn't make much out about the boy, as the hood fell far down his face, shielding his eyes from her view.

"Oh good," said the Lady, suddenly smiling and displaying her shiny white teeth and gums. "I've heard about you, you help out the police don't you. Then would you mind taking this little ruffian down to the police station. The little shit tried to steal my purse."

"I did no such thing," the boy suddenly rebutted back. "You dropped it, I picked it up. I was going to give it back to you but you suddenly started yelling at me."

"Oh what a convenient excuse," the woman snarled with her nostrils flaring. "Never mind my purse was in my handbag making it pretty much impossible to drop."

"Then clearly it wasn't" the Boy growled.

After hearing the little argument Videl decided on two things. One, she didn't like the lady very much. And two, even so the lady was right in that she couldn't drop her purse if it was in her handbag.

"You're going to have to come with me," Videl said to the boy.

"No I don't," he snapped back quickly. "I've done nothing wrong. And I'm late enough as it is. Besides the woman's already got her purse back and you don't even have any proof I've done anything."

Well that was true, but it was also true the boy snapped at her. She had been thinking about letting him go when the woman was out of earshot, but _no one _snaps at her and gets away with. So now Videl turned to give the kid a glare.

"If you'd done nothing wrong then you wouldn't mind accompanying me to the station for a statement would you," she hissed at him. Videl had been fully fully expecting the boy to back down from her glare, as even the adults do, but instead he held his ground seemingly not bothered by it. Weird, she thought. Mayve he can't see past his hood.

"I just said that I'm late for something. So if you don't mind I'm leaving."

The boy huffed before swivelling on his feet and moving to walk past Videl, who quickly moved in front of him. He was pissing her off now.

"You under arrest," she barked, going to grab him with her left hand while her other moved for the cuffs she kept on her just in case. But suddenly the boy was behind her. It was like he'd vanished from in front. Videl only realised where he'd gone when she heard a foot fall in the snow. She turned and sure enough there he was, heading towards the exit.

"Hey, get back here!" she yelled, running after the boy and leaving the lady, who decided she had had enough and promptly continued walking back down the other end of the ally.

"I said stop!" yelled Videl, grabbing the boys shoulder. Next thing she knew she was sailing through the air, before landing somewhat painfully on her back in the snow. She simply lied there stunned. He'd thown her. That she knew. What she didn't know is how he'd thrown her. It had happened so quickly she failed to even realize it until she was already in the air. People don't just throw _her. _She was supposed to be too good for that. She was the strongest kid in the world after all. She'd even won the world junior martial arts competition.

"Umm, are you okay?"

The Boy's voice brought her back to reality and she suddenly noticed the wet feeling seeping into her clothes as she laid there in the snow. She looked up to see the boy standing over her, a worried frown the only thing visible on his face. Videl nodded slowly, before trying to get back up. A little unsurely she managed to work her way back onto her feet.

"Sorry about that, it was a reflex action," the boy said, his right hand disappearing into the fold of his hood to scratch the back of his neck.

Videl regarded him for a second, looking him up and down. He didn't look like much, but then it was hard to tell under that baggy hoody he was wearing.

"Are you a martial artist," she asked him with a little suspicion in her voice.

"I dabble," he told her, moving his hand to his neck again. Videl frowned. Knowing that didn't make her feel any better about being thrown so easily.

"You're still under arrest," she told him. "If not for attempted theft then for assault."

For a second the boy went completely still as if shocked by her words. Then he simply burst out laughing.

"Ha ha ha, you just don't give up do you?" the boy said as his laughter died down. Videl scowled. She did _not_ like people laughing at her.

"Just shut up and hold your hands out so I can cuff you," she spat at him, whilst levelling him with a glare that had made her father go weak at the knee's more than once. But instead of backing away in terror like she was used to she boy simply smiled at her.

"Why don't we play a game?" the boy said.

"…what?"

"A game. It's simple. You try to remove my hood. You're the daughter of Mr Satan so it should be easy for you right. If you can do that then you can arrest me. But if after ten minutes my hood is still on my head you'll give up on trying to arrest me."

Videl took in his offer. After half a minute she nodded her head.

"Deal," she said. After all how hard can it be to catch and de-hood one kid. Even one who can throw her like it's the easiest thing in the world.

The boy gave her a grin before pulling out a stop watch from his pocket. 'What does he do this a lot,' she thought.

"Time starts… NOW!"

The boy clicked the go button, but before Videl could go to grab him, the boy bolted.

"Hey, get back here no running!" Videl shouted after him.

"I never agreed to that!" the boy shouted over his shoulder as he rushed down the street at a rather incredible pace. Videl frowned before running after him. The boy smirked at her over his shoulder as he saw her following him. The two weaved in and out the crowds, both going at a pace beyond what should be normal for two kids. But after five solid minutes of running it was Videl who was feeling it the most.

'I'm not catching up and he's not slowing down,' she thought to herself. She was running flat out after the boy and her legs were starting to tire. She was not in the suitable attire for running and if you add that to the fact she was running in snow it was a miracle she hadn't fallen over yet. Scratch that, it was a miracle _he_ hadn't fallen over yet.

'Who the hell _is _this guy?' she thought to herself. She was slowing down a bit now. The boy however was about to enter an ally. Suddenly she had an idea. Veering left, she entered a different ally, running past the heaps of trash that littered the floor, running past several intersections.

'You'll regret coming this way.'

* * *

When he next looked over his shoulder, Videl was no longer following him. He frowned. 'That's it? He was even going slow enough for her to keep up with him. She couldn't even run for ten minutes?'

The boy sighed to himself before turning his next corner. And almost running head first into the grinning face of Videl Satan.

"I've got you now," she screamed gleefully, lunging the shocked boy's head. Luckily for the boy he managed to shake himself out of his stupor just in time to duck under the girl. Videl altered the course her body was on, leaning more forward and once again going for the hood. But once more the boy was quicker. Before she could register what was going on, he was beside her, then past her. Never one to give up, Videl snaked her back leg out, catching the boy unawares as he tripped. The Boy put both hands forward, catching himself before he hit the floor. Then he brought both of his legs upwards into a handstand before pushing of the ground, sailing through the air and landing on his feet. Half way through the process his hand had gone to his hood to prevent it coming off. But he didn't have time to relax. Videl was after him again. She lunged once more, forcing him to retreat further down another ally, which he noticed with some irritation was a dead end.

"Ha, there's no escape now. Just give up," Videl shouted gleefully as she slowly advanced on him, forcing him to move further and further down the ally until his back was against the wall. She went for him again, but this time the boy jumped up. Kicked off the wall behind him, he shot forwards spinning through the air and landing behind Videl. Quickly he began to run again but Videl was obviously prepared. Before he'd even landed she spun round to chase him, and chase him she did. With a mighty kick she belted a bag of trash which promptly hit a wall and exploded right in the boy's face. Or it would of, if the boy hadn't brought his arms up it time to shield it. Seeing her chance, Videl shot forward, finally managing to grab his hood. But before she could do anything with it, she was sailing through the air again. 'NO WAY, NOT A SECOND TIME,' she thought angrily in her head. Gathering her bearings, she reapplied her grip on his hood, using it to gain control of her body in the air. She tugged, managed to prevent he self from getting any further before landing on her feet. Then she jumped forwards, managing to topple over on top of the boy. As they came crashing down Videl finally took her chance to pull down the boys hood.

"Victory!" she screamed, holding an arm and two fingers in the air from her position on top of the boy. She looked down to finally see the boy she'd been chasing. His face was a bit pale but kind looking. His hair was black and messy, but in a stylish sort of way and his eyes were a black twinkling onyx colour. She grinned down, satisfied in her victory, but stopped as she noticed the boy grinning right back.

"Twelve minutes and forty three seconds. Sorry but you were a bit slow."

He held out the stop watch for her to see, although the numbers were a bit further along now, there was still no doubt that she was outside the time limit. And by almost three minutes too. For a few precious seconds she was silent. But then…

"DAMN IT!" she shouted out loudly, her voice fierce and clear in the silence of the ally. The boy twitched as the girl roared out in her despair. Curses flew out her mouth which ideally should never be heard coming from a thirteen year old girl. Once she stopped howling, she tuned back to the boy who was still beneath him, trying to blink back some tears of anger.

"Sooo, are you going to stay like that or…?"

Videl having successfully removed her tears looked down to find she was straddling the boy. Quickly she got up, trying to hide her embarrassment. The Boy swiftly followed, standing up and dusting himself off before looking up to smile at her.

"So, deals a deal. I'm free to go right."

He flashed her a wide smile while waiting for her answer.

Videl didn't answer for a few seconds, mulling things over and trying to find a loop hole that might allow her to claim victory. Finally she said…

"No, you might be clear of theft and assault but I can still get you on sexual harassment."

The boy looked visibly stunned.

"When the hell did I sexually harass you!" he bellowed.

"Just, on the floor. Don't pretend you didn't enjoy having me there you little perv!" she screamed back.

"You put yourself there on your own. Stop being a sore loser and accept the fact that you lost!"

Videl closed her mouth and glared at him as a few more tears sprouted out of her eyes.

'Damn, I've got to stop crying when I lose' she scolded herself.

The Boy suddenly turned to leave, apparently coming to the conclusion that she didn't have anything else to say.

"Name!" Videl suddenly bellowed. The boy stopped in his tracks and turned to face her.

"What?"

"You're name," Videl said, just loud enough for him to hear. "I've caught a lot of thieves and burglars. I've got a one hundred per cent capture rate. Or at least I did. I want to know the name of the boy who ruined that."

The boy seemed a little surprised by her words but suddenly his face split into a cheesy grin.

"Gohan," said the boy. "My name is Gohan."

**How many of you thought Videl would actually catch Gohan, albeit after the time had expired. Well if you're wondering why Videl could manage it it's because Gohan wasn't showing any super human ability's. Not that he doesn't have any, he just didn't use them. And he didn't some much point in continuing the game once the time expired so he pretty much let Videl catch him. **

**Well when I first posted this chapter I asked the meaning behind the name delivery boy. When I was eventually told the answer to that question, it inspired me to stick the word rice into all the chapter titles. Well hope you all enjoyed the chapter, now on to the next one!**


	2. Sparring with Rice

**Just… wow. Colour me surprised. I figure if impressed has it's own colour then surprised probably has too. When I checked my email this morning I honestly didn't think I would have a review yet. I normally need to wait. So imagine my surprise when I found not one review but seven! That's the most I've ever had for a first chapter so I want to thank every awesome person who reviewed. So thank you to Guest, Dr. Blue22, sharkdude 5, Girl in green, ultranx, demonicSaiyan32 and Son Goshen. You guys are awesome, and thank you for telling me the meaning behind delivery boy. As a form of thanks for those seven reviews I will be posting up this chapter a mere day after posting the first one. Seriously guys, thanks for those reviews.**

**Feel like leaving that bit above there. But I have now cleaned up this chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the awesomeness that is dragon ball Z or any off it's spin off's or counter parts. **

'NO FUCKING WAY!'

Videl couldn't help but stare with her mouth hanging open at the boy who stood at the front of her classroom.

"Hello everyone, my name is Son Gohan. I'm looking forward to getting to know all of you."

There in all his glory was the Gohan himself, the boy who'd humiliated her. Kind off. Only now rather than a hoody he wore a white button shirt un-tucked and black slacks.

'What is he doing here!' Videl practically screamed inside her own head. All around the classroom there were whispers coming from the students.

"Gohan here will be staying with us until the end of the year. He got a perfect score on all his entrance exams."

Suddenly all the whispering from the boys in the class seemed to comprise of a single sentence.

"What a nerd."

Apparently the teacher seemed to pick up on this.

"Now, now, I said he had a perfect score on _all _his exams. This includes his physical. In fact I've heard whispers from the fitness coach that young Gohan here may be genetically engineered."

The teacher said this in a kind tone, to imply that it was a joke.

'Well that would explain a lot,' thought Videl. It had only been three days since the last time she'd seen him, and even now she couldn't get over how skilful he had been and how easily he'd seemed to outmanoeuvre her.

Suddenly Gohan caught sight of her.

'Oh crap.'

He gave her a big smile and waved.

"Who's he waving at?"

"Err, call me crazy but I think it's Videl."

"No way!"

The whole class suddenly turned to stare at her, and for the first time in as long as she could remember Videl found herself to be embarrassed.

"You may sit wherever you wish Gohan."

Gohan nodded gratefully to the teacher, giving him a cheerful smile.

"Thank you sir."

Gohan bowed before turning to look for a seat. He managed to spot a seat near the back. And to his private delight it was directly in front of his favourite nemesis. Since meeting her three days ago, Gohan had decided that Videl was an enemy, but not in the same way as Cell. More like a rival, someone he can argue with for no reason at all. A different sort of friend he supposed. He's seen that kind of relationship in TV shows and novels. His Dad and Vegeta could serve as an example, but he wasn't really hoping for a rivalry that intense.

Smiling to himself, he took his seat in front of Videl, and to his surprising satisfaction, could already feel her glare on the back of his head.

"Okay class, settle down. Now let us resume our topic from yesterday."

As the class got settled into their lesson, and resumed their whispering between their individual groups.

Videl glared at the boy in front. What the hell was he doing here? Well only one way to find out. Without a second thought she swung her leg forward and belted his chair. Quickly he turned round to face her. Rather than frowning or his usual annoying smile his face was blank this time.

"What the hell are you doing here robber boy?" she quietly hissed down at him.

Gohan tilted his head to the side as if contemplating the question.

"Studying," he finally answered. Videl intensified her glare.

"That's not what I meant and you know it."

Gohan sighed.

"My mother decided to move in with a friend for a while since she was having trouble at home. So she decided that while we were down here I should experience what going to school was like."

He didn't mention that he chose this school specifically when he'd noticed the badge on her coat the other day.

"Experience School, what do you mean by that?" Videl asked with a puzzled expression.

Gohan was unsure how to answer her but as it turned out he didn't have to.

"Miss Videl. I realize that you and Mr Gohan are acquainted but perhaps you could wait till break to hold your discussion."

Videl gave the teacher a small glare, and was rather happy with herself as he faulted and lost his sloppy grin. After Gohan she'd been worried that she'd lost her touch. It was nice to know she hadn't.

The teacher cleared his throat before moving on with his lesson. All through the class Videl glared at the back of Gohan's head. Gohan himself simply sat there smiling, pretending to listen to the teacher and occasionally doodling in his notebook. However come break time he was a little disappointed when rather than continue trying to interrogate him, Videl sauntered past without even looking at him. Gohan frowned and decided to stay in his seat.

* * *

"Hey you, I hear you know Videl?"

Gohan looked up from his seat to see who was speaking to him. It was a boy, same age as him from the looks of it with straight sparkly long blond hair that was slicked back and just past his shoulders.

"Erm, hello," Gohan said, rather surprised that the boy was talking to him.

"Hello to you too."

This came from a girl standing next to the boy. Her hair was just as blond but puffed up.

"Erm can I help you?" asked Gohan, still confused.

"Yeah, Videl. Where did she go?"

'They must be her friends,' he thought.

"I don't know," he answered truthfully. "She just left."

"Huh, that so. Well I heard you know her. Big school rumour, The new kids a smartass and he's got something going on with Videl. That true?"

'What the hell does that mean?' thought Gohan. "Well I bumped into her once before, but I'm not really well acquainted with her."

The blond boy gave him a grin.

"Really? That's good. Because if not then I would have had to deck your scrawny ass for stealing my girl."

Gohan opted to remain silent in response to that comment not really sure what to make of it.

"My names Sharpner by the way. And this here is…"

"Erasa!" the girl cried out cheerfully. "And pay no attention to Sharpner here. He couldn't score Videl no matter how hard he tried. Or tries if you want to be specific."

"Well I might be wrong brains but you got gym with us next. We'll be able to see if you can do anything more than read books."

Gohan decided once more not to comment on his apparent nickname, deciding instead to give him a friendly smile.

"Okay, see you then."

Apparently satisfied for now, Sharpner quickly turned on his feet and exited the classroom. Erasa stayed behind for a second to give Gohan a friendly smile of her own before disappearing from the classroom herself. Less than a minute after the two blonds had left Videl casually strolled back into the classroom. Spotting Gohan still in his seat she approached.

"Hey Gohan. You see a queer looking guy with long blond hair and a pointy nose come in here?"

"You mean Sharpner?" Gohan asked, frowning at her use of the word 'queer'. "He said he was looking for you."

"Good, he won't be back then," Videl said, sighing in relief. "I met him at the start of the year. Ever since he won't leave me alone."

Gohan couldn't help but be surprised that Videl was suddenly talking to him. He was expecting her to be nothing but glares and growls for at least another week. 'I guess you really can't judge people,' he thought. He was even more surprised when rather than return to her own seat, she sat down next to him, swinging her bag round on to the table with a loud thud.

"So anyway, going back to the last question, what did you mean by experiencing school. You make it sound like you haven't been before?"

Gohan nodded, wondering how best to answer her.

"I haven't." he said eventually. "I lived up in the mountains in the 439 East district. It was pretty hard to get to school and back so I was home tutored instead."

Videl nodded her head in understanding. It did make sense after all. It also explained how he was so smart. And if she thought about it, the mountains must have been a pretty good playground so it was no wonder he had a good amount of stamina and balance. Pleased with her deduction, Videl went on to her next question. The important one, which she'd spent all break thinking about and the reason she was currently being somewhat nice to Gohan.

"Say Gohan. During next period in gym we have a twenty minute section where students can do anything in relation to martial arts. The session was introduced to honour my dad. But the point is, in that time would you spar with me?"

Videl had to play this carefully. Normally someone would only agree to spar with her if they were the egotistical stick up their ass type, and they never agreed to it a second time. But for anyone who wasn't like that, they'd tended to steer clear of her, so if she wanted to spar someone in particular it usually required a small amount of sweet talking beforehand, to try and make them feel obligated. And besides that she'd already seen that Gohan was no amateur martial artist, so it should be fun, plus she really wanted to get back at him for beating her last time.

Gohan could honestly say he was surprised. He'd never expected Videl to want to spar with him. And the way she asked, as if she was all embarrassed about it. And suddenly not glaring at him and being nice was pretty fishy too. Soon the answer hit him like a jack hammer to the face. He'd never notice a normal hammer, so it had to be a jack. She had been trying to butter him up and manipulate him in to saying yes. Well it didn't really matter. She could have remained her grumpy self, grabbed him by his gym clothes in the gym and yelled at him for a spar; it wouldn't have changed his answer.

"Sure," he said with a smile. "Sounds like fun."

"Great," replied Videl. "I'm going to the locker room now, so I'll see you when we get there."

As Videl left the room, her smile turned into a frown. What was up with this guy. Sure she'd tried to butter him up, but to so casually accept her challenge. She knew he knew who she was, so couldn't he be a little bit more scared at the thought of fighting her. Well then again he'd done a pretty good job of evading her before, but at the time she was just trying to pull his hood of rather than hurt him.

'You just watch Son Gohan, because after this lesson you're going to learn just who you've been messing with.'

* * *

What the hell was happening? No matter what she did, she couldn't hit him. There she was all dressed up in her training gi, and there he was in a long sleeve shirt and tracky bottoms. She thought she'd be able to beat him easy. Boy was she wrong. First there was his stance, standing in a side on position with no visible openings. How does that even work? There should always be opening! They'd straight away attracted a crowd, in front of whom she was planning on embarrassing him. The problem was there were no flaws in his stance at all, making it difficult for her to make the first move. But she did anyway. Lunging forward, she suddenly dropped, hoping to take him by surprise and take his legs from under him. His response was to put his leg forwards straight into the sweeping kick allowing their shins to collide painfully.

'Is that even a proper defensive technique,' she'd thought. Switching to plan B she brought her other leg up, pushing off the ground and aiming for his face in an upwards flying kick. Gohan simply brushed her leg to the side with the back of his right hand before aiming for her stomach with his knee while she was in mid-air. Her response was to block the knee with both hand, bring both legs into the air effectively doing a handstand on his knee before spinning around using her hand and trying a drop kick. Quick as a flash, he leaned to the side as her foot sailed through the spot his head used to be. Before she could registered what he was doing he'd grabbed her ankle, swung her round then flung her somewhat painfully onto the mat they were fighting on. This pretty much left Videl feeling furious.

'What the hell, I've used all three of those moves individually to take out opponents three time my size, but I couldn't land a single one of them on him.'

Whispers had begun spreading through the crowd of watching teens, some of them visibly shell shocked at seeing Videl at a disadvantage.

"What the hell, is it just me or is Brains fighting on par with Videl."

Gohan couldn't help smirking at the sound of Sharpner's disbelieving voice. He had to admit though that for an ordinary human, Videl was pretty good. She'd shown some quick thinking in how to get round his more or less perfect stance and even blocking his own attack. Well he was still holding back quite a bit so that he didn't hurt her too much, and also so that he didn't arouse too much suspicion from the spectators. He couldn't rest yet though because Videl was back on her feet and boy did she look mad.

Giving a loud yell, Videl charged at her opponent once more. As she reached him, she side stepped as he went to block her faint. Quickly she brought up her leg, aiming a high kick at his face. Gohan quickly leaned backwards so that the tip of her feet skimmed past his nose. Then before she could recover from her miss he went low and swept her other leg from underneath her. Never one to back down, Videl managed to spin herself in mid-air aiming another kick at Gohan's lowered torso. Gohan brought his arm up to block and then without missing a beat brought his knee forward, still low to the ground and thrust his palm, allowing it to collide with Videl's stomach and sending her flying backwards a few feet. It wasn't even three seconds before she was back on her feet, although she was clutching her stomach and panting heavily.

In comparison, Gohan she noticed much to her displeasure, didn't seem out of breath at all, but was instead silently studying her, seemingly getting ready to counter whatever she tried next.

'There's still at least ten minutes left,' thought Videl. 'I've got to turn this around. I'm the daughter of Hercule Satan, I can't afford to lose to some country boy no body.'

Readying her stance again, Videl let out another heartfelt battle cry. She cleared half the distance between her and Gohan before jumping into the air, performing a somersault and going into another drop kick. She was expecting Gohan to block the kick then go for the obvious opening, allowing her to spring her trap. What she wasn't expecting was for Gohan to take a simple step back, forcing her to alter her position so she could land without damaging her leg but with less than perfect balance. Before she knew it, he'd taken advantage of her weak posture and swept her legs from under her, causing her face to go on a crash course with the met. She quickly put her hands out, letting her roll over onto her back and flip herself back onto her feet. As quickly as she could she was back on Gohan, going for a round house kick, then dropping whilst continuing her circle for a low kick. Gohan brought his face back dodging the first kick but noticed he'd made it difficult for himself to dodge the low kick. So he allowed his body to continue falling backwards, putting his hands out and cartwheeling backwards, making his two separate attempts at dodging seem like one fluid motion. Making a growling noise in her throat Videl quickly shot forwards with a well-aimed punch to the throat. But in her anger Videl had made herself an easy target. Grabbing her incoming wrist, Gohan quickly spun on his heels and flung her over his shoulder. Videl felt a nostalgic feeling before she landed on her back, hard. Just as she did, the bell went, breaking the entire class, including the teacher's concentration on the fight. Their twenty minutes had come and gone. They were supposed to be changing now but the teacher had been so focused on the fight he'd forgotten to look at his watch.

"Okay, that will be all for today children," he said loudly, hoping none of them noticed his mishap.

"You two bow to each other then go get changed.

Videl and Gohan did so, but Gohan noticed that Videl now held him with a tearful glare, and as soon as they both straightened up Videl fled from the room.

"Erm, did I do something wrong?"

**I'm gonna make one thing clear. This is not a Gohan goes to high school fic, as much as I enjoy them. This is a Gohan goes to middle school purely because I wanted that sparring match to happen, stays there for further plot bunnies then gets the fuck out. Well I'm going to leave you guys with something to think about. Do you have one of those people who you treat like an enemy, argue about everything but actually your quite fond of them? That would be called a rival. I think. Also there's a bit in the spar where Videl goes to punch Gohan in the throat. This is in homage to a mate of mine, who's solution to everything is 'Punch it in the throat.' Apparently whoever you punch won't be able to say anything back that way because they'll be too busy chocking. I haven't actually tried this solution out yet, although I have tried Kidney punch. Anyway drop a review on your way out please.**


	3. Sweet and sour Rice

**Chapter 3, thoroughly checked and now lacking typo's. Unless I missed them. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own dragon ball z or any of its awesome characters.**

"Hiiyaar!"

CRACK

Hercule brought his hand to his face as he watched another of his pupils get knocked out by his thirteen year old daughter. She just swung the young lad over her shoulder and smashed his face of the floor.

"Okay, who's next?" asked Videl while swinging her shoulders and apparently stretching in preparation for her next bout.

"Honey bear, don't you think that's enough. You've already knocked out five of my best students," Hercule pleaded, putting his hands on the ring ropes and looking over at her.

"Oh, did you want to spar Daddy?"

Hercules blood ran cold. He couldn't spar his daughter. Not because he couldn't hurt her but because he wasn't sure he'd win. He was still stronger than her, he knew that much, but only by a small amount. Give it another year or two and she will have surpassed him completely.

"No Sweat pea. Daddy doesn't want to spar with you, he wants you to stop taking out your anger on his students. Why don't you come sit down with Daddy and tell him what's wrong?"

Hercule knew this didn't have a very good chance of working but crossed his fingers and hoped it would. However his hopes were dashed as Videl simply glared at him and returned to badgering the conscious students for a fight. Of course they all hell their hands up and declined, none of them wanting to be the psycho girls next victim.

Hercule watched her sigh in defeat, leave the ring and head over to the punching bags instead. The student who was already there went a little pale at the sight of her and quickly fled.

Videl prepared herself into her stance, and then imagined the punching bag was Gohan. Quickly she began kicking the stuffing out of it. These weren't controlled practiced kicks which she would perform for hours on end, these were kicks of anger and frustration, as she poured all her pent up aggression into each kick. She was aware of all the students and even her father watching her as she practised. But as she carried on kicking the bag with all her might she noticed rather than felt the tops of her feet begin to bleed as she lost some skin. Really if she was doing this she was supposed to tape her feet up. But right now she didn't care, she just kept wailing on Gohan's imaginary face. And rather than getting less angry she grew angrier. She knew she was kicking the thing, but every time she went to attack imaginary Gohan he would block her. She knew that was crazy since right now she was kicking a sandbag, but every time she hit it, she felt like she'd just been blocked instead. She screamed, increasing her pace, but still imaginary Gohan stood firm. Finally, not caring that everyone was watching her she went ballistic, kicking, punching and just generally tearing into it. The entire populace of the gym watched her in a state of shock as she tore into the bag. They watched as the bag swung from side to side with the force of each blow, how the seams stretched and tore and finally, as the enraged girl lunged at the sandbag, it gave out as she collided with it and both the bag and the girl fell to the floor in a heap of limbs and sand.

As Videl picked herself up, now covered in sand, she had a strange sense of De ja Vu. She'd just brought down imaginary Gohan. She looked down at the Sandbag, or what was left of it, which was now placed between her legs as she went to stand. But no, imaginary Gohan was still smirking at her. Just like the first time she met him. Just like the first time…

"THAT BASTARD!" Videl shouted out loud as realization hit her. That scheming conniving bastard. He'd let her catch him. After today, how he'd dodged and blocked everything she was sure of it. The git had let her think of herself on his level. He hadn't exactly let her win but he'd let her think she would have had a chance. What, was he trying to save her confidence, to make her think she _could _of won, if she'd just been a bit faster. Thinking about it she honestly couldn't remember the last time she'd been this furious. Her fists were shaking and angry tears were forming in her eyes. Quickly she wiped the tears away with the sleeve of her gi, got up, grabbed her towel and left the gym before her father could ask her who the bastard was.

Well that was the plan but her father had followed her out. Quickly he ran to catch up to his quick paced daughter, having to jog alongside her as she walked.

"Sweet pea has someone done something to you. Because if someone's threatened you or said something you just come right out and tell me and I'll-,"

"DAD! Videl suddenly burst out; cutting her father of in is tracks. "No one's done something bad to me. I'm just frustrated. And maybe I feel like I've lost myself somehow. I've always thought of myself as the strongest, well after you anyway. And even if there was someone stronger they would be about your age with much more experience than me. But today I met someone my age and in a spar I couldn't even touch him."

Hercule let his mouth hang open. There's someone at school that Videl can't defeat, or even _touch_? Or at least it had better be someone from school because if his little Videl was going round meting strange people on the streets- no now isn't the time for that. Because if there's really someone who's that far above Videl at school then…

"What if they're even stronger than me?" Hercule whispered.

"What was that," asked Videl, not quite catching what her father had said.

"Oh, nothing honey-pie. Yup well you just need some more training. You'll surpass this kid soon enough.

'Somehow I doubt that,' thought Videl. 'Even just, in my own imagination I couldn't beat him.'

So Father and Daughter walked home side by side, one with the intention of getting a nice cold beer and the other to think of a way to become strong enough to defeat her new rival.

* * *

As Videl walked calmly down the hall of her school she was having to constantly tell herself something over and over in her head.

'I am not going to scream at Gohan. I am not going to scream at Gohan. I am not going to scream at Gohan.'

"Man Gohan you were awesome yesterday."

Videl stiffened as those words hit her. They were coming from inside her classroom. Carefully she peeked inside and there, sure enough was Sharpner and Erasa talking to a seated Gohan.

"I can't believe there's someone who can beat Videl."

'Well maybe right now he can, but you just watch. I'll get stronger, and then I'll pulverize him.'

"Have you thought about joining one of the school clubs, because if not then my club would definitely welcome you."

'Yesterday you thought he was a nerd, now you want him to join your club?'

"Yeah Gohan, you were really good," came the girly voice of Erasa. "But don't you think you were bullying Videl a bit?"

'…what?'

"How so?" came Gohan's reply.

"Well it's not hard to see Videl has a lot of pride. And you overwhelmed her so much yesterday. It must have really knocked her back. Don't you think you could have let up a bit, just let her connect a punch or two."

There was silence for a moment.

"No, I don't think I could have. And I don't think I should have either. If I'd let her win, or let her hit me, there's no way Videl wouldn't notice. And if I was in Videl's shoes, I'd have been insulted if she'd let me hit her."

Well that was true. She'd gotten pretty angry yesterday when she'd realized he'd let her catch him the first time round, even though the time limit had already expired.

"And besides, the way I see it, a spar is used for two people to recognize their own shortcomings in combat. To that end, it wouldn't work if I let Videl think she's stronger than she is. Your right that she'll probably be angry that she lost for a while. But once she calms down a bit and reflects back on it, she'll start wondering what she could have done different and how she could improve. For instance she was too hasty sometimes, and all of her attacks seemed too vicious too me. She always seemed to go for vital areas and focused a lot on hitting my face. Once she realized that head on assaults don't work she should have concentrated more on disrupting my stance, forcing me to act and then engaging in a counter herself."

Videl was shocked. After all the kid was pretty spot on. And he'd gotten all that from a single spar. She shouldn't have concentrated so much on heavy damage assaults. But she'd been so mad she'd just had to prove that she was better. And as far as she was concerned the best way to prove that was to put him down in one shot. But if she'd just calmed down and thought things through, then…

Suddenly Videl was smiling to herself.

'Maybe he's not so bad after all.'

So, somewhat happier than she had been the day before she swung her classroom door open and walked right in.'

"Hey Gohan," she said walking over, noticing with some amusement the looks of complete shock evident on all three of their faces.

"Hey Erasa, err… Sharpner? Isn't your class starting soon?"

Of course she was only pretending to forget Sharpner's name. But hey, any chance to bash his ego was a chance she'd take.

"She's right, we've got like three minutes!" Cried Erasa after looking at her watch. "Come on Sharpy let's go!"

Sharpner frowned as he was led out the room. Videl smiled as she watched them go. Once they'd left the room, Videl went straight to her seat behind Gohan and started unpacking her things.

"Say Gohan, I got a question."

Gohan quickly swivelled in his chair to face her, giving her a curious look.

"What kind of martial arts school do you study under?" she asked, while flicking through her notebook, trying to act like it was just a passing question. In actuality she was dying to know.

"Martial arts school?"

"Yeah, you know what style of martial arts do you use?"

"Oh, well It's a mixture of turtle style and demon style," Gohan answered casually.

"Turtle style!" Videl suddenly blurted upon hearing the name. Demon style she'd never heard of, but the turtle style of martial arts was famous. It was the style used by the former champion of the world martial arts champion Goku, as well as being one of the most historical and mysterious known styles around. But apparently it was really hard to learn because only a few people know it and apparently none of them take students.

"Where did you learn Turtle style martial arts?"

Gohan inwardly frowned. 'Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned that.'

"Well my dad taught me a bit before he died. But my main martial arts form is the demon style," said Gohan hoping to shift the topic away from turtle style. After all it was much easier to lie about a style no one's heard about.

"Your Dad taught you?" said Videl, not taking the bait. "Who was you father?"

But in reality she'd already figured it out. Gohan's last name was Son, he'd said that on his first day here. And he studied Turtle style martial arts and you can't learn that from just anywhere. That was already two things he had in common with the previous world martial arts champion, and that was two things too many.

"His name was Goku," Gohan replied, already knowing that she knew who he was. After all she knew about turtle style martial arts. As he expected Videl's face split into a big grin.

"I knew it! After all there's no way a random kid off the streets could beat me," she said, inwardly relieved she was right. She couldn't stand the thought that he was just someone who'd manage to surpass her with some two bit martial arts teacher.

The rest of their morning discussion passed quickly, although Gohan felt uncomfortable for most of it. Videl had this annoying knack of hitting up immediately on small bits of what would be otherwise useless information, and then using that information to form guesses that were for the most part scarily close to the truth.

'Well at least she's being friendly,' thought Gohan.

After school Gohan had preceded straight home before Videl could catch him. She was going to ask him to join her father's gym. She was a bit annoyed but decided she'd try again the next day. She bid a quick goodbye to Erasa before the girl could drag her on an annoying shopping trip, and skilfully evaded talking to Sharpner altogether.

She'd really wanted Gohan to come to her father's gym. She'd hit a wall there, like before she'd been improving so quickly but now progress was slow. She was hoping that by getting Gohan to join she would be able spar with him more often. After all they say the quickest way to improve is to challenge those who are stronger than yourself. She sighed to herself, watching her breath turn to mist in the chilly winter air. Suddenly she heard a scream though the air and grinned to herself. Great, just what she needed. Some poor sap to beat up on. As fast as she could she ran towards the screaming voice.

"Let go you pervert!"

A resounded smack could be heard cracking through the air. Videl herself was rooted to the spot, suddenly not entirely sure she wanted to get involved. There were a group of woman in furs and coats, all backing away from what looked like a _really _old man. He had a long white beard, a bald head and thin bony arms and was carrying a thick knobbly staff. For some reason, even though it was winter, he was wearing sunglasses, a Hawaiian shirt and brown shorts.

'What the hell?'

The man approached the woman with a raised twitching hand and a perverted blush on his cheeks, along with a bright red hand print.

"Now don't be like that it was an accident. I didn't mean to squeeze you're ass," the man tried to reassure the tall striking brunette who was leading the group of woman. "Why as a gentle men I would never- woops."

The man fell, apparently slipping on the ice. His face fell forwards landing in between the brunettes chest.

"Woopsy, heh heh heh." He raised his free hand, putting it on the completely stunned woman's chest and used it to push himself back up. "Those are some nice goods you got there."

Videl had seen enough. Growling in disgust she shot forward.

"Stop right there you old pervert," she barked. The old man turned to look at her. Just as she was about to grab him he took a step back and bopped her on the head with his staff.

"Ow," whimpered Videl, immediately putting a protective hand on the sore spot.

"Now now, young missy. What do you think you were doing to your elders."

Noticing the distraction, the woman quickly scarpered leaving Videl to whatever horrible fate they imagined the old man had for her.

"You're under arrest," said Videl trying to supress a sniffle. "For indecent behaviour, sexual harassment, sexual assault and assault on an assistant officer."

Well she was kind of an assistant officer. More or less. So she didn't have an actual badge, but she was still allowed to arrest people without falling under the unlawful detainment law. She wasn't really sure how it worked.

"Hey now, I haven't done any of those things. I just tripped. Just an accident."

"Yeah right," said Videl, taking out her emergency cuffs and taking her hand off her head. Quickly she went to grab the man again. Only for him to hop to one side in some mockery of a side step. Furiously she turned to face him, only for him to bop her on the head again.

"Ow," she yelled out a little louder this time.

"Has no one taught you to respect your elder's," the old man asked, holding both hands behind his back.

'Ok calm down Videl,' she told herself mentally. I'm not really sure what's up with this guy but obviously just trying to grab him isn't going to work. I need a distraction. And for a perverted old man I've got just the thing.'

Videl stared somewhat behind the old man with a look of confusion on her face.

"Isn't she cold wearing that?"

The old pervert took the bate in a second, quickly turning to find whoever Videl was talking about. Seazing her chance, Videl shot forward and managed to get a cuff on a skinny wrist. But before she could cuff the other the old man realized what was going on and quickly spun around again, whipping the remaining cuff out of Videl's hand. Then to Videl's astonishment he simply grabbed the already closed cuff and ripped it of his wrist, effectively shattering iron.

"Ho, not bad little girl. But you're going to need to do better."

"My… my handcuffs," Videl suddenly blubbered out. That was her only pair. How the hell was she going to explain to the police chief that she need a new pair because some old man had torn the last set to pieces?

'Okay, I'm taking this old guy in,' she thought to herself, trying to solidify her dwindling determination.

"Alright bub, if you don't surrender right now, I'm going to be forced to beat you into surrendering, and pray you don't have a heart attack half way through."

The old man smiled at her words.

"Perhaps if you were older and had a bigger chest it might sound tempting," said the old man, chuckling to himself.

"Alright, that's it!" and having said that Videl launched herself at the old man like a rocket. Quickly, she spun into him, grabbing his shirt and throwing him over her shoulder. Only half way through the throw his weight suddenly disappeared from her grip. Looking up, she noticed him perched on top of his staff, bent down and balancing and fixing her with an amused frown.

"Well aren't you the feisty little nipper. Give it ten years and I think you'll turn into quite the looker, but I don't think I'll envy your boyfriend."

Videl turned red in the face. Instead of answering the old perv, she decided to attack the stick instead so that he'd fall. But as she went to kick it, the staff suddenly shot up into the air as the old man did a somersault, landing behind her. Videl lashed out with a punch aimed at the base of his spine. But as she did the old man hoped backwards towards her and over her head. Quickly she turned round only to find the old man's foot in her face. He quickly pushed off her, using her as a spring board and landing further down the road.

"What the hell," whispered Videl, clutching her nose with bright red cheeks and blinking back tears.

"Who the hell are you," she groaned out, not pleased that she'd met a second person who was obviously stronger than her, or more skilled at least.

The old man fixed her with a grin.

"Well you seem to be quite in to martial arts so perhaps you've heard of me. My name is Roshi, the turtle hermit."

**Well what do you think? Am I going a bit fast with things. I pretty much skipped over the school day, because I don't really want to write much about school. Oh and if people haven't noticed yet I don't like Sharpner. At all.**


	4. Stronger than Rice

**You know what I noticed. Reviews are like Christmas presents. I wake up in the morning and there they are in my inbox, and like the kid I think I am, I sit there reading each one like they're sacred. Which to me they kind of are. But in particular I want to take this moment to say thanks to the guys who review each chapter, which really makes me feel all tingly inside. That would be Shark Dude and Ultranx. And Lycos Tamer reviewed the last two so thanks to him too. Shark dude's reviews in particular are brilliant. I've had 'great start,' great chapter and 'great chapter'. I figure he's grading each chapter and at some point he's going to give me a 'rubbish chapter' or a 'brilliant chapter. So thanks to all my reviewers who swiftly brought the review count to 21 by the time I woke up the next morning after I posted the last chapter. I'll let you get on with reading now.**

**Chapter 4 has now been checked through and purged of typo's. Woot!**

**Warning: There is a LOT of talking in this chapter, with very little action. I intend to make up for this next chapter. Once again I also haven't checked it over well, but I will check it again at a later date. I just kinda wanted to get this chapter out of the way and focus on the next one.**

'What am I doing?' Videl couldn't help but think to herself. First she'd tried to arrest a Lecherous old man. Then she'd tried to catch him. Now she was treating him to coffee. How did she get from one extreme to the other? Oh yeah, he was the legendary martial arts master Roshi the turtle hermit. So once that had been revealed she'd simply stood there in a stunned silence, and then he's somehow manoeuvred her into buying him coffee.

"This is some good caffeine," remarked Master Roshi, who sat across a small round table in a small but cosy café. "So little lady, is there something you wanted to talk about?"

Videl considered his question before answering. To find out that master Roshi was this perverted old geezer was quite obviously the disappointment of her life, but at the same time this was her chance to train under a real martial artist, and prove that she was capable of something even without her father. Putting on a face of determination she quickly put both palms on the table and stared the turtle hermit straight in the face.

"I want you to train me."

"I refuse."

Videl was silent as Roshi continued sipping his coffee.

"Why, is there something wrong with me?"

"Yes, you're too young and your chest hasn't developed yet. Besides aren't you the daughter of Hercule Satan? Do you intend to abandon your father's teachings?"

Videl closed her mouth before she could retort. She hadn't thought of that. How would it look really, if she decided to train in martial arts other than the style of her Father, presumed to be the strongest style in the world? The media would eat it up. To the rest of the world it would just look like she was rejecting her father rather than earnestly trying to improve himself.

"Well couldn't you help me in some way?" asked Videl, deciding that it was probably a bad idea to ask for this guy to be her teacher anyway. God knows what he'd make her do in five years' time if he was her master.

"Ho ho, how would you like me to do that? I can't imagine that the daughter of the great Hercule would consider herself so weak that she would need my teachings?"

Of course Videl didn't really know of the irony in his words, and Roshi found himself saddened by this fact. He could tell after all that the girl in front of him truly cared for martial arts, and it was a shame really, to have her continue training under an oath like Hercule. But even so he couldn't train her. It would get too much media attention for one thing, and he liked his quiet life on his island.

"To be honest I used to think I was the strongest fighter in my own age range. But then I met someone, and now I know that I have a long way to go before I can consider myself truly strong. And that kid who made me realise that said he trained in the Turtle style of martial arts."

Master Roshi took on a quick look of surprise when Videl finished her speech.

"Someone who's trained in turtle style? What's their name?" asked Roshi, inching closer in his curiosity.

Videl's eyes took on a suspicious look, but it was aimed more at her own musings than at Roshi himself. 'Could it be possible Master Roshi knows Gohan. Well only one way to find out.

"His name is Son Gohan," she declared in a steely voice.

Roshi let his mouth hang open for a second as Videl's words sunk in. Then to Videl's surprise he burst out laughing. Pretty much everyone in the café turned to look at the old man who had burst into an hysterical fit, and Videl found her cheeks going red as they also turned to stare at the girl who was with him, noticing that some of them seemed to recognize her. Finally master Roshi seemed to calm down, wiping a tear away from under his sunglasses.

"So you've taken Gohan as a rival eh? Oh boy, you've got a long road ahead of you if you want to compete with him."

'Guess he really does know who Gohan is,' thought Videl, a bit irked by Roshi's casual reference to how much stronger Gohan is than her. Well she knew he was quite a bit stronger, and she also knew that he hadn't been giving it everything he'd got when he fought her, he'd seemed far too passive to be giving it his all.

"So you know Gohan then?" asked Videl, trying to act a bit surprised. After all, she might be able to get some answers out of him about how Gohan managed to get so strong in the first place.

"Heh, You know I do missy. I trained his father after all."

"You did!" Videl exclaimed, actually a bit surprised this time. She knew Goku fought using turtle style but she'd never read anything about him being taught by Master Roshi himself. Although it was kind of an obvious conclusion if she thought about it.

"Yes indeed I did. Goku, and I know you know who he is, is for lack of a better term my pride. I have more pride in him than I do in the ka-mea-mea wave I spent fifty years developing."

Videl nodded her head, somewhat surprised that Roshi was capable of having pride in anything judging by how he acts.

"Well he is the second strongest man in the world after my father. Or at least I'm pretty sure he is, unless there's someone stronger than Goku."

As she finished her words, she noticed that Roshi looked like he was about to start laughing again. What did she say that was so funny this time? After a few seconds the old man seemed able to contain his laughter.

"Ha, Hercule stronger than Goku. No, the gulf between your father and Goku is as vast as the one between you and Gohan. Both you and your father have the same problem you see, and it is stunting your growth considerably. I'm guessing you've noticed this yourself."

Videl was shocked by the Turtle Hermit's analysis. After all he was spot on. She had noticed a decline in her martial arts. She'd been progressing so rapidly before, but now her progress was much slower. And if Master Roshi was right then her father was experiencing the same problem.

"And what's my problem exactly," asked Videl with a frown. She didn't for one second believe that Goku was stronger than her father. Just a senile old martial arts teacher showing favouritism for his student. But regardless of that his analysis of her was real.

"Heh, it is a common problem shared by many martial artists. One in particular I know of, but he is different from you and your father. Martial artists have a bad habit of only training their body's but neglecting to train their minds. A young mind is capable of growing and adapting far quicker than an adult one. This is because adult minds become corrupt and filled with useless baggage as their life goes on. After all, your father is now far more interested in his own personal image than his abilities as a martial artist. You are similar. You put so much stock in being the daughter of Hercule, and you actually allowed yourself to consider yourself the strongest. When you discovered there was someone stronger than you, did you rejoice at the challenge they represented? Or did you get angry?"

Roshi's words were spoken quickly, having lost the humorous tone they once had. All of a sudden Videl did not want to be near this old man. She saw now that she'd underestimated him. Not his strength but his intelligence. Behind those glasses she felt he could see right into her soul. Her father may have been strong but he was also dumb. That much she realised about her father. She'd just assumed that all powerful martial artists were likely compensating a lack of brains with muscle. She saw now she was wrong. After all, the old man had been completely right. She'd gotten far too cocky, cared far too much about her position as Hercules daughter, but more importantly she'd lost that eagerness to fight stronger opponents that she'd had as a child. The realization seemed to shatter her.

But Master Roshi's smile soon returned to his face, and he gave a small chuckle at the sight of Videl's distraught face.

"Oh don't be so hard on yourself. You are young, and on the long road of a martial artist it is common to lose your way. It will take many years of meditation and hard work for you to clear your mind of useless clutter."

Videl couldn't see it but Master Roshi was dying of happiness inside. After all it had been years since he's acted like a teacher, and actually said something useful.

Master Roshi stood from his chair, giving Videl a small smile as she thought over everything he had said. He put his hand in his pocket and quickly pulled out a capsule.

"Here, take this. I cannot train you, but that shouldn't stop you from improving yourself."

He placed the capsule in front of her.

"I mentioned earlier a particular martial artist who has a similar yet different problem to you and your father. His problem is solely pride, and his inability to let go of it. Instead this person trains nonstop, punishing his body and constantly overcoming his own limits to become stronger. At the end of that day, hard work is the true essence of martial arts. You must not let yourself become complacent, and never allow yourself to believe that you're strong enough. Always aim for greater heights. There is one more thing I must point out before leave. You believe your father is at a level so far above you that you will never reach it. This is not so. The first step to achieving is believing. This may seem contradictory to what I just said, but you must believe that you can surpass your father, otherwise you are limiting yourself to his level. Inside that capsule are some special items of clothing. With the exception of bathing and sleeping I suggest you wear them at all times. They are old clothes, the remains of an old vest actually, that I remade into something for you young folk. Not you in particular but it should fit you quite nicely anyway. I'm afraid that this is all the help I can give. Goodbye Miss Videl."

The old pervert gave her a last smile before opening the door to the shop, moving through it and allowing the door to close with a tinkle of the bell overhead.

* * *

Once Videl got home that day, she raced upstairs past her father who tried calling out to her and swiftly locked herself in the sanctity of her own room. Pulling out the capsule given to her by the Turtle hermit, she pressed the button and through it, allowing the clothes inside to materialise on the rug in the middle of her room.

"What the hell," she muttered out loud, taking a look at the garments that had been bestowed upon her.

There was a dark blue vest that looked a bit small for her, along with four wristbands of the same colour.

'He really did make this himself, and badly too,' she thought. There were obvious bits of sowing which showed where he'd sewn separate parts of the vest together. Also she noticed, the fibres were all of a similar length and had been but. In other words, the vest used to be two or three times thicker than it currently was, and by the looks of the sewing, two or three times bigger too. He wasn't kidding when he said it was made from the remains, he'd made a new vest out of what was left of an old one. She hesitantly picked the vest up, half expecting it to fall apart. To her surprise, it didn't, but more to her surprise she was having difficulty holding it.

"This thing weigh's a ton," she barked out, surprised by the weight of the material. "At least thirty pounds."

Okay so maybe not a ton, but that's still a pretty heavy shirt. And sure enough the four wrist bands were weighted too, though a little less than the vest. Deciding that there's no time like the present to see if these things actually make a difference, Videl quickly undressed, before grabbing the vest and trying to force it over her head. She'd thought it looked too small for her, but to her surprise it stretched, so when she was eventually able to get the difficult vest over her head and down her torso it fitted comfortably with her frame, hugging itself to her body. She grabbed two of the wristbands and slipped them on her arms.

"Well this is going to be annoying," she thought, realising that the wristbands were going to make moving her arms and legs much more difficult and costly energy wise. Regardless she slipped the last to bands over the feet and wrapped them round her ankles. She was pleasantly surprised to find that whatever material these clothes were made from didn't itch in the slightest. So satisfied with that she quickly pulled her grey dougi on over clothes, before running downstairs, and out the door before her father could call her name again. As soon as she exited the door she veered left, heading for the house's gym. But thanks to the unfamiliar extra weight she lost her balance whilst turning and came crashing down, rolling across the floor before stopping in a bundled heap of bruised limbs.

"Ow, that hurt."

* * *

"Good morning Videl," Said Gohan cheerfully from where he sat. He waved at her as she entered the classroom.

"Morning," she said with a tired groan. She opted not to tell Gohan about her run in with Master Roshi, sidling past him instead where she took her seat and immediately let her head hit the table with a smack. She groaned again, too tired to even move. She'd spent hours training last night in that stupid vest and bands. After a mere ten minutes she's found it difficult to lift her legs anymore. After thirty she felt like simply rolling over and dying. But she'd pushed on and now she was paying for it. When she woke up this morning her bones and joints were stiff and painful, and despite her father's calls that she would be late she'd refused to get out of bed. In the end she'd been dropped off, since she wouldn't have made it to school on time if she'd walked. But the worst part was she was still wearing the stupid clothes under her white shirt, the wristbands hidden by her gloves and the ones around her ankles hidden by her shoes. Thankfully the shirt wasn't particularly bulky, although she imagined it was before it had been skinned in two. She figured out that if the vest weighed thirty pounds, and the wrist bands weighed twenty, then she was walking round with one hundred and ten pounds on her. But still, she wanted to get stronger. And then she wanted to kick Gohan's butt. She could see it now, the look of absolute surprise on his face when she reveals how much stronger she'd become, and of course she would defeat him and then make him her slave for life. Okay maybe that was taking it a bit far, but all the same she was going to beat him. So he had better watch out.

Gohan smirked too himself as he heard the soft snores from behind him. He couldn't help but smile at the realization of what she was wearing. After all, it may not be visible, but a Saiyan's senses were very acute, particularly there sense of smell. And the young Saiyan could smell the scent of his father on her the minute she entered the room. And she enough he'd managed to spot a tell-tale bit of blue poking up from under her collar.

"She must have been up all night training in that," he thought. "I wonder who gave it to her."

**For anyone who's interested I live in England, so for anyone like me, who doesn't measure weight in pounds, I'll tell you that there are 14 pounds in a stone, if you didn't already know. So 110 pounds is about 8 stone I think. Also Goku's original weighted clothing was altogether about 250 pounds, so Videl's wearing less than half of that. **


	5. Playing with Rice

**Okay Guys, this is another chapter that's been cleaned up and whatever else. Enjoy XD**

**I do not own dragonball Z. I do own a very gay dog, a whimsical laptop and a Ben and Jerry's chocolate fudge brownie ice cream. **

It was a Saturday morning and Videl had spent it training. Once she was warmed up she'd began sparring. She couldn't remember the last time she had difficulty with anyone at her father's gym. But for once she was having some difficulty with his students. She was fighting four of them at once of course, but even so she would normally have knocked out at least two of them by now. But five minutes in to the fight she was panting. Her opponents Mark, Jazz, Ryan and Ruby were all staring her down, encircling her. They were good fighters, all ranked in the top ten at her father's gym. But she'd never lost of any of them before and she wasn't about to start now.

The rest of the gym, who had stopped to watch the fight were in utter confusion. Videl was slower than usual, her balance was off and she was already out of breath. A lot of them came to the conclusion she was ill. That didn't stop them from cheering her opponents on though. Of course Videl's weakness had nothing to do with being ill. It was the fact she was wearing the clothes that weighed as much as another kid. She'd practically doubled her weight. But that was not going to stop here from winning. A fist came flying at her face, and she managed to dodge it by inches. She quickly grabbed the wrist which belonged to Mark, but before she could act on it Ruby brought her leg down on her arm, causing her to let go. Ruby quickly brought her other leg round in a high kick, but Videl ducked and dashed forward tackling the girl to the ground. She was interrupted again though When Ryan brought a foot to her face. She moved with the blow, negating as much of the force as she could and rolled off Ruby and swiftly getting back to her feet. Ruby was also up again and Jazz and Mark were coming in from behind her. Jazz lashed out at her, but she brought her arm up, blocking a vicious punch. She dodged a kick from Ryan, ducking low then shooting herself up before he could lower his leg and brought them both crashing down again. Before any of the others could act she rolled of Ryan who had to suffer the impact of Videl's extra weight, sweeping her foot out and bringing Mark down too. Ruby brought out another kick, which Videl deflected upwards with her palm before swiftly spinning past a palm thrust from Jazz, grabbing his wrist, kicking at his ankles and flipping him over bringing him crashing down. Mark and Ryan were back up and closing in and Videl soon found herself fending off blows from all three. With her weighted clothes on her stamina was quickly depleting but she fought on. Eventually she was able to do something other than tackling them and throwing, grabbing Ryan's incoming wrist in her left hand, raising it above her head, moving her foot forwards and slamming her fist into Ryan's ribs. Ruby moved in to save her ally but Videl spun still holding onto Ryan's wrist and threw the man forward into Ruby's path. Videl continued with her momentum, kicking Ruby in the back of her knee and bringing her to one knee, before bringing her foot up and landing a vicious axe kick down onto Ruby's shoulder. Mark came next, dodging a fast punch she ducked under a punch, grabbing his Gi and flinging him over her shoulder. He was sent flying into Ryan who had been working his way to his feet. With just Jazz left, she went on the offensive. She ran at him, but he prepared to guard. But suddenly she dropped to her hands. Then she sprung herself back up, locking her legs around Jazz's head. Then she fell backwards bringing her with him. Using her leg muscles she brought Jazz over her and slammed his head on the matt. The man collapsed on her before Videl could roll out the way. She quickly untangled herself from the unconscious man, brought her hand to her head and wiped the sweat from her brow. She looked around her and was glad to see none of her opponents were getting up again. But she'd gotten pretty bruised up in that confrontation. She left the ring and went to grab a towel. Once she'd done so she quickly left the gym, not noticing the shocked faces all around her.

Two minutes later she'd collapsed onto her bed in a heap of sweat. She was panting heavily, her limbs were aching and she doubted that they could stand her weight anymore.

"…Need… shower," Videl managed between pants. But she didn't have enough strength left to get up and take one. Instead she decided to simply lie there for a minute and catch her breath. But then minutes later she seemed no closer to moving. She only shifted from her spot when she heard a rapping at the door.

"Miss Videl, you have a visitor."

It was her butler Ricardo, or as she called him, Cari. He left as soon as he'd informed her of her visitor, magically knowing that she'd definitely heard him despite the fact she never replied to him.

"Who could be visiting me?" thought Videl, managing to finally lift her tired arms and push herself up off the bed.

"Maybe Erasa? No she always calls first. Well I guess I'll see for myself."

She worked her way over to the door, grabbing the handle, opening it and allowing herself to fall forwards into the hallway. Using the wall for support she managed to walk her way down the hall and onto the landing, emerging but the grand staircase and staring at the scene below with an open jaw.

There stood her father staring down what could only be a nervous but smiling Gohan.

'What the hell is he doing here?' she thought to herself frowning. She began working her way down the staircase, gripping the railing tightly so that she definitely wouldn't fall. Upon spotting her out the corner of his eye, Gohan turned away from Hercule to look at her with a big smile and waved.

"Hi Videl," he said with a slightly nervous grin.

"Hi," Videl remarked flatly, fixing him with a suspicious look.

"Now Videl I demand an explanation. What are you doing inviting boy's over to our house. And such a scrawny kid at that."

Gohan had given a sigh of relief as he'd entered the house, as Hercule had obviously not recognized him.

"I didn't invite him over Dad, he came on his own," replied Videl, a bit embarrassed at her father's words. "Although I would like to know what you're doing here Gohan?"

"If you're here to ask my daughter on a date then you can turn you scrawny behind around and march out that door. Videl's not dating any man who can't defeat me, the strongest MAN IN THE WORLD!" Hercule spat out at Gohan. Videl turned red as her father spoke.

"Erm, well I was just wondering if Videl would like to hang out for a bit. I'm new to the city and Videl's the only real friend I've made so far."

Vegeta had holed himself up in the gravity room and had flat out refused to let Gohan in. Goten was playing with Trunks and his mother and Bulma had gone shopping. Once his boredom had peaked Gohan had decided that he would call upon the single friend he'd made. He had to work up some courage before he could ring the doorbell though.

"You think I'm your friend?" Videl responded to Gohan with a surprised voice. The response was not what she'd expected. Gohan's smiling face turned from one of happiness to shock then finally to ultimate sadness until eventually he looked like a kicked puppy. For any other girl, this look would have melted their hearts, and they would have instantly apologized for hearting his feelings and felt an extreme urge to coddle him. However Videl was not any other girl. So instead she let out a snort and fought back a very real urge to laugh at his face. Somehow she felt like she'd finally scored a victory against Gohan.

"You hear that you conniving little brat. Videl doesn't see you as a friend. Now get out of my house."

Hercule pointed at the door and Gohan slowly turned to face it.

"Hey now, I never said I wasn't his friend Dad. I was just surprised he saw me as a friend. So to answer your question Gohan, yes I'll handgout with you for a bit."

She found the look on her father's face even funnier than Gohan's.

"Just wait here for half an hour so I can go get a shower and change. If you can't tell I just stopped training a few minutes ago so I'm still a bit sweaty."

Without waiting for a reply from either of them Videl spun on her heels and headed back up the stairs. Once she reached the bathroom she began to take of her gi. Once she removed the weighted clothing she immediately noticed the difference. She suddenly felt so light and some of the fatigue seemed to disappear with the clothing. Smiling to herself she happily got in the shower.

"…So then Kid, you like my daughter do you?" Hercule asked, glaring down at Gohan as if daring him to give the wrong answer.

"Err, yes?" answered Gohan.

Turned out that was the wrong answer.

"Well tough. Videl is a member of the Satan family. We don't go out with snivelling worms like you. If you want to go out with my daughter then you're going to have to beat me first. And I think we both know that a brat like you doesn't stand a chance of defeating the greatest fighter in the world."

"…erm"

Once Videl had finished her shower, stuck on another set of weighted clothing (the capsule had three sets. Who knew?) and stuck a baggy shirt and jeans on over it with a jacket and white scarf, she headed downstairs. She saw her frowning father and smiling Gohan.

"All good?" asked Gohan as she approached.

"Yep," replied Videl. She stared at her father as if daring him to say anything. To her surprise he didn't, just looked away instead.

"Err let's go then," Gohan suggested, before heading to the door. Videl followed, but turned back to her father before she left though the door.

"Be back later Dad."

"Yeah, have fun honey bear."

Videl headed out the door closing it behind her. Hercule sighed as he watched her go then headed back to the TV room with a limp.

"I'm surprised," said Videl, as she followed Gohan down the road.

"Well he couldn't complain really. I've got to ask though, do all your friends have to fight him before he'll let you go outside."

Videl's head whipped round to face him.

"What?"

Gohan instantly recognized he'd made a mistake.

"Erm, well you know. He said I'd have to beat him before he'd let you go outside. I think he let me win though," Gohan said, trying to cover his tracks. He was pretty sure that Hercule would say something similar if Videl questioned him on it later.

"Oh, alright then," said Videl. It was understandable that her father wouldn't fight seriously against a kid and Gohan was strong enough to last a little while even if her father tried. But what she found most entertaining was that Gohan had confused 'going out' with 'going outside'.

Gohan gave an inward sigh of relief as Videl seemed to accept his words. It was light out, with a sheet of white snow still covering the floor. Gohan was wearing his track suit again with the hood.

"So what are we doing then?" asked Videl, as she trudged through the snow behind him. She wasn't going to walk next to him; people might think they were together.

"I was hoping you'd tell me, I'm new to the city remember? I don't have a clue where anything is, so I was hoping you'd give me a tour."

Videl gave him a small smile.

"Sure," she said. "Then first stop, arcade."

* * *

"What are we supposed to do?" asked Gohan, looking at the screen. The game he'd been sat in front of was Satan fighter. A fighting game which predictably was named after Hercule. He wasn't surprised to see Hercule on there as a selectable character, but he was surprised to find a samurai dinosaur and a bear.

"Simple, select a character and fight," remarked Videl. She may not be able to beat him straight up yet, but she'd have an advantage in an arcade game.

Videl selected Yuki, a ninja girl as her fighter. After some thought Gohan selected Kuma, the bear. The fight was quickly under way, as Gohan started pressing random buttons to figure out what's what. Videl spent the first twenty seconds happily whittling Gohan's character down. Then she started to struggle. Then she was forced to scream in frustration as the bear grabbed Yuki's shoulder's and tore her throat out in a rather gory display.

"I thought you haven't played before," she hissed at him from her side of the arcade.

"Yeah," said Gohan. "But the button layout is simple once you break it down, then it's just a matter of experimentation until you find all the separate combo's."

Videl frowned before sticking another coin in the machine.

"Again!"

Ten minutes a six more losses later Videl threw her hands up in the air in defeat. Every time she played him Gohan got better.

"Let's find a different game," she huffed, grabbing his sleeve and pulling him from his chair.

However Videl's attempts at finding a game she could win at proved fruitless. When they finally left the arcade she was close to tears. Gohan however was smiling.

"Wow, arcade games are fun."

"Maybe for the winners," muttered Videl under her breath.

Next she dragged him to the cinema.

'Wait a second, couple's go the cinema together, not friends.'

Videl shook her head. "Well there's the cinema. So if you ever want to go to the movies this is where you go."

"Oh like the one's advertised on TV," remarked Gohan, staring at the cinema in awe. "I've always wanted to go see a movie. Can we go in?"

Videl gave Gohan a funny look.

"You've never been to the movies?"

"No, I lived in the mountains remember."

"Even so, you have to come down sometimes," she remarked, eying him suspiciously.

"Well yeah, but we never stop long, and it's mainly to hang out with friends of the family. So we don't really go out into the city."

Videl shook her head.

"We can't go see a movie," she told him.

Gohan held a sad expression and pouted at her.

"Aww, why not?" he asked.

"Because if someone saw us they'd get the wrong idea," she snapped back, glaring at him, daring him to talk back. Apparently he dared.

"Why would people get the wrong idea?" he asked with a confused expression.

Videl just shook her head at his density.

"Can we please go see a movie?" Gohan begged. He felt a little silly for holding his hands together and begging her like a child would his mother, but he really did want to see a movie.

Videl was a bit surprised by his eagerness, and almost relented.

"N-no," she stubbornly refused.

"Pleeeeaaase,"Gohan continued. He'd noticed her falter. Now he just needed to continue pressing.

"Nuh uh," Videl said, shaking her head from side to side.

Gohan gave her puppy dog eyes and a sad pout. "Please Videl. Just do me this favour and I'll pay you back, any way you want."

Videl faltered.

"Anyway I want?" she asked slightly hesitantly. She could force him to do anything. She could have him grovel at her feet, or wait on her like a servant. Okay, she had to stop thinking those kind of thoughts. She was starting to creep herself out. But she could force him to join her father's gym. And all it would cost her is a few zenni for a movie ticket and potentially an explanation to someone who saw them and came to the wrong conclusion.

"Deal," said Videl with a wide smile. "So what are we waiting for, let's go."

Her hand shot out, grabbing his sleeve and pulling him through the door.

Two hours later, both Gohan and Videl were sitting in a café, drinking a milk shake each and happily discussing the movie.

"I didn't really get all of it," admitted Gohan. "But I did like it. A dark hero who refused to kill dressed up in a bat costume."

Videl nodded. Of course Gohan wouldn't have seen the previous dark knight films, and apparently had never heard of batman at all. But he seemed to have thoroughly enjoyed the movie. But now was the time to spring his promised compensation on him.

"So I recall you promising to pay me back for that," said Videl, smirking at him form the other side of the table."

Gohan stopped drinking his milkshake, a magical drink he'd never tried before and was currently relishing in, to stare at Videl with a blank expression.

"Yes I did," said Gohan, sitting up straight in a manner that clearly said, speak and I'll listen.

"Right," said Videl, also sitting up straighter. "Anything I want right?"

Gohan didn't answer for a few seconds, before answering.

"As long as it isn't too unreasonable." He answered with a shy smile and a small blush.

"I want you to join my father's gym," Videl declared, getting straight to the point.

Gohan seemed to take a moment to process the information.

"You want me to join your father's gym?" Gohan asked with uncertainty.

"Yeah. Come on, it's your chance to become even stronger. Next to my Dad you're probably the strongest person I know. If you're going to keep improving then your only real chance is to learn from the best and my dad is the best," Videl reasoned. But Gohan shook his head.

"I refuse," stated Gohan flatly. Videl frowned.

"Why? I doubt you're getting any challenges or any worthy fights at the moment. You said your Dad was dead right, so you can't learn anything more from him. Plus with no one left but my Dad to surpass I'm starting to slow down in my training. I need somewhere there who I can spar with on equal footing. Please Gohan, just help me out."

She stared intently at him, straight in the eyes and with a look a pure determination on her face. Gohan felt his resolve shake. But it hadn't broken so he replied back firmly.

"I refuse to study under your father."

Videl's glare turned angry and she leaned right over the table so she was right up in his face.

"You said you'd do whatever I wanted, and it's hardly unreasonable. Why the hell is this a problem. I'll talk to Dad, you won't even be charged."

But Gohan shook his head.

"I can't Videl. But I did promise I'd do whatever you say. So if you want I can come to your father's gym. But I won't study any martial arts there. I already have a teacher, and even though I've surpassed him in strength and speed, there's still a lot he can teach me, and I'm still getting stronger."

Gohan's eyes were determined as he stared back into Videl's. Who suddenly took this moment to notice how close their faces were. She blushed slightly when she noticed and quickly went to sit back down.

"Hey Chi-Chi, its Gohan. And I think he's on a date."

Both teens went red at the words as both their heads shot round to glare at the speaker. Videl found herself looking at a blue haired woman who wore a long white open coat that fell down to her knee's, with a red shirt and white scarf. Next to her was another woman with black hair done up in a bun, with a long yellow and black top on with some sweatpants on underneath. The blue haired lady looked familiar to her.

"So then, who's the girl Gohan, introduce us."

Gohan turned red in response to the smile she sent his way and gulped.

"Erm, this is Videl. She's a friend from school." He decided not to mention her last name. "Videl, that's Bulma and the lady next to her is my mother Chi-Chi."

Suddenly Bulma's identity clicked in Videl's head.

"You're Bulma Briefs!" she gasped out loud. Several passers-by stopped at the mention of the name.

"Erm, not so loud please."

"Oh sorry," Videl whispered, placing her hand over her mouth. She knew how annoying it was to be recognized and pestered on the streets by random passers-by.

"That's alright. So your friends huh. Your faces seemed awe-fully close together considering you were just friends."

Videl went a deeper shade of red, along with Gohan.

"Gohan, its fine if you want a girlfriend, but don't let it interfere with your studying," Chi-Chi admonished.

"She's not my girlfriend mom," Gohan said, his blush not going away.

"Of course she isn't," said Bulma, giving him a wink. "But since she's such a good friend of yours why don't you invite her over for the barbeque tomorrow."

"Eh," said Gohan, caught completely off guard.

"What do you say Videl. Want to come to capsule corp. tomorrow?"

Videl couldn't believe her luck. She'd just been invited to capsule corp. Gohan said his mother was staying with a friend because she was having a bit of trouble coping. It looks like she knew where he was staying now.

"I'd love to come," Videl replied, giving Bulma the most grateful smile she could muster.

"Great, we'll see you tomorrow then. You know the way to capsule corp. right?"

Videl nodded her head.

"Well we'll send Gohan to fetch you anyway. He'll swing by around twelve, won't you Gohan. Oh and just wear casual clothes, nothing fancy."

Videl nodded her head again.

"Well I'm afraid we're going to have to steal Gohan away now Videl. There are far too many bags here for two ladies to carry all by themselves. She nodded to the two dozen bags they seemed to be carrying between them.

"Plus, he's needed at home anyway. Come on Gohan."

Gohan nodded and stood up.

"Umm, I'll see you tomorrow then Videl," Gohan said, nervously scratching the back of his head.

"Yeah, pleasure meeting you," said Bulma with a smile.

"Thank you for looking after Gohan," Chi-Chi said with a bow.

"It was a pleasure meeting you both," said Videl, returning the bow with a blush.

Both ladies smiled before dumping all their bags on Gohan and turning away before walking off. Gohan turned his head to give her a nod before walking off after them.

* * *

"Dad, I'm home!" Videl called as she entered her home. She found her Dad in his TV room, watching over one of his old fights with a cold beer in hand. She leaned over him, grabbing his thick neck in a hug.

"Videl," said Hercule with some surprise as she hugged him from behind.

"Thanks for letting Gohan win Dad," she said with a smile before kissing him on the cheek and letting go. She quickly exited the room leaving Hercule to his thoughts. If the Kid mentioned it, he was claiming to tell her she'd let him win anyway, rather than admit to being thrown straight into a wall.

"Well at least she's happy," thought Hercule aloud with a shrug.

**Well somehow this chapter ended up clearing four thousand words. I watched Dark Night rising not too long before I finished this chapter, so I decided to give it a mention. I recommend anyway who hasn't watched it to go do that. To anyone who's interested, this fic will gain an actual plot at some point. I just need to lay all the ground work. **


	6. Barbaqued Rice

**I always felt I could have written this chapter a little better. Well now I've cleaned it up so at least all the typo's are gone.**

**Are you, don't remember if I mentioned this already, but since this fic is Au and I can therefore change little things here and there, Capsule Corp. is located in Satan City in this fic. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonball Z. I also no longer own a Ben and jerry's chocolate fudge brownie ice cream.**

Videl stared at herself in the mirror with a small blush. She'd been told to wear casual clothes to capsule corp. but there was no way she was going in her usual baggy shirt. So she'd went through her wardrobe looking for something a bit more girly but not as sparkly. Eventually she'd found what she was looking for in the form of a light blue dress top, with straps over her shoulders and frills round the waist. Underneath she'd worn three quarter jean shorts. She knew it was going to be cold outside but the walk to Capsule Corp. wasn't too long and she'd be wearing a coat. She'd showered and removed the weighted clothes. She'd even straightened her hair out, letting it fall down in long curly arcs as opposed to the regular twin tails. She stared at herself in the mirror for a few more minutes before grabbing her coat and leaving the room to head downstairs. Gohan would arrive in ten minutes so she should be ready early.

"Hey sweet pea… Videl what are you wearing?"

'Oh shit…'

She'd forgotten to tell her Dad where she was going. She'd been so excited she hadn't even mentioned it to him. Now here he was standing in his robe and slippers with a beer in hand giving her clothes the one over.

"Dad it's not even twelve yet, should you really be drinking?" asked Videl, eying the beer in his hand.

"Somewhere in the world it's past twelve honey," replied Hercule with a practised ease. "Now don't try to distract me. Why are you dressed like that?"

Videl sighed, trying to come up with the best way to explain herself.

"I'm going to a party?" she tried.

"Let me guess, you're going with that punk kid from last night? Well I'm not having it Videl, if you want to date a Boy they have to be stronger than me, the strongest man in the world!"

Videl sighed. Her father really did like to use that line of his. But then her face changed into a smirk.

"I thought he beat you yesterday," she said with a grin and watching her father sputter.

"Well that's different Videl, I didn't fight him seriously. If I'd been serious then I would have snapped the kid's spine like a twig," Hercule raged back. It wasn't entirely a lie. He hadn't been serious. He'd assumed a small punch would be enough to punch the kid crying on his ass. What he hadn't expected was that he'd be sent flying through the air faster than he could register the fact he'd been thrown. Hercule frowned at the memory.

"Well don't worry Dad; I don't have any intention of dating Gohan. But he is walking me to the party."

She thought it best to mention this to avoid any bother her Dad might come out with when Gohan showed up on the door step. Better to get it out the way now.

As she expected her Dad kicked up a fuss, and they spent the next ten minutes arguing until Cari the Butler came to inform them that the young man from yesterday was at the door.

Happily ignoring her Father's screams she skipped over to the door, opening it to find Gohan standing there in a black coat which was buttoned up high enough to hide his chin, along with a pair of jeans and white sneakers.

"Hey Videl, you ready to go?" said Gohan.

Videl couldn't help but giggle as his breath was chilled in the air and seemed to rise up from beneath his coat which was hiding his mouth.

"Yeah I'm ready. Bye Dad, I'll be back later."

Videl quickly shut the door behind her and practically ran out her front gate. Gohan calmly followed her to where she waited for him outside and then both of them were on their way.

* * *

Videl couldn't believe where she was as she stared at the giant dome building. Capsule corp. the home of the Brief family, practically the smartest people in the world. Gohan quickly ushered her in through the front door, not wanting to stand in the cold for any longer than he needed to. Once through the door, Gohan swiftly took of his coat and placed it on a waiting hook. Then with the ease of a practiced gentleman, he slipped Videl's coat from her shoulders and hung it up next to his. He quickly led her through a few metallic hallways. Suddenly they were outside again and Videl couldn't help but gasp. It was like she was standing in the middle of a clearing in a tropical forest. The sun was high in the sky and there wasn't a drop of snow in sight. The temperature was comfortably warm. In the clearing there were people standing in groups talking, laughing and doing whatever else. There were tables set up containing bowls of buns and sauces with other toppings. About three separate barbeque grills had been set up, each of them seeming a lot bigger than your average grill.

Bulma quickly noticed her standing there gawping with Gohan standing right behind her. She walked over to them with a confident smile on her face.

"Glad you came Videl," she said to the stunned girl. "You look lovely. The food will be ready soon, so feel free to mingle in the meantime. Just drag Gohan around with you if you're feeling shy."

Videl swallowed and nodded at the smiling woman, who just smiled wider.

"Okay, I'll come check on you in a bit so have fun."

With that Bulma walked off, leaving Videl to simply stand there confused as what to do next.

"Hey Gohan how you doing."

Videl turned to stare at the voice that greeted his friend. She was met with a short man about the same height as her. He was wearing an orange shirt and grey jeans. He had a thin sheet of hair on his head as if he'd shaved it as close to his head as possible.

"Hi Krillin. Hey you've got hair! I thought you were naturally bald."

Apparently he was growing it.

"Nah, I just shaved. Well who's this little Lady? You got yourself a girlfriend Gohan?"

Krillin smirked at Videl with such a mischievous grin she felt herself backing away. Gohan shook his head.

"She's not my girlfriend. Just a friend from school."

"Oh yeah I forgot you did that now. Well I guess a lot of things are changing now. You're going to school. I'm getting married. Hell check out Vegeta!"

Krillin nodded at one of the men working on the grills. He had long porcupine hair with a buttoned shirt and black bottoms. He was pointedly ignoring the scarred man next to him who seemed to be chatting away.

"Yeah he's changed recently," acknowledged Gohan. "Ever since dad died he seems more complacent. Still trains like a nut, but he'll actually talk to you sometimes now. He even takes Goten and Trunks to the park sometimes."

Krillin whistled as Gohan talked. Videl realised she'd been completely left out the conversation. She quickly made to walk off and go find someone to talk to, but Krillin spotted her.

"Hey Gohan, I think your girlfriends feeling ignored."

Videl blushed before turning around to glare at the short man.

"Gohan is NOT my boyfriend," she growled angrily. Her outburst turned caused several people to turn round and stare at her with some curiosity about her statement. Videl blushed as she noticed everyone staring and Gohan nervously scratched the back of his head.

The next hour passed quickly as Videl met the various people who came to say hello to Gohan. She was surprised when she found the scarred man to be Yamcha, an old Baseball star. The man with the porcupine hair didn't spare her a second glance, but she knew his name to be Vegeta. Krillan's fiancée was a beautiful woman with Blond hair whose name was apparently eighteen. Her tone was fierce and Videl couldn't help but admire her. The woman didn't seem to speak much but gave Videl a small greeting anyway. She also found Master Roshi at the party.

"Ho ho,hello there Miss Videl. We meet again. Did you like the clothes?" the old man asked when she went to speak to him.

"Yes thanks. I'm still getting used to them but I already feel stronger than I used to be." Videl said. She was standing next to him at the buffet table, getting a Hotdog ready.

"If you don't mind me asking what are you doing here?" asked Videl as she took a small bite of the hot dog.

"Ho, I've known Bulma for years. And Yamcha and Krillin over there are both students of mine."

"Really?" asked Videl with a surprise. That would mean that both Krillin and Yamcha might have a history in tournaments. She'd have to research when she got home.

"Yes they used to be very strong. Krillin still is, but Yamcha hasn't been training properly the last few years."

Master Roshi sounded a little sad as he said this.

"A little advice for you Miss Videl. It's best not to mention your last name whilst you're here. A few people here are a little angry at your father."

Master Roshi finished filling his plate with burger's and wandered off somewhere. Videl watched as he 'accidentally' slipped as he was walking past Bulma and grabbed the woman's boob to steady himself. Then she watched with some amusement as the billionaire lady proceeded to beat the shit out of Master Roshi. Laughing a little, Videl decided to go find Gohan. She found him talking to a tall Green man who was standing under a pine tree, away from everyone else.

"Hey Gohan," she called to him. He turned to face her and she couldn't help but be surprised at what he was holding. His plate of food was made up of about fifteen hot dogs stacked up like Jenga blocks.

"Umm, hi Gohan. Who you talking too?" She stared up at the green giant as she said this.

"This is Piccolo," said Gohan, nodding to him. "He's my martial arts teacher. Piccolo, this is Videl, she's a friend of mine."

"Hi," Piccolo said flatly, as if it wasn't a word he was used to saying.

So this was Gohan's teacher who he'd already surpassed physically. Well the man certainly looked intimidating. She remembered there conversation from yesterday, how she had been trying to convince Gohan to join her father's gym. Maybe she could convince him to convince Gohan.

"Hello Piccolo," said Videl, trying to give a smile. She would never admit it, but she felt a little scared staring into this man's eyes.

"I've got a question for you Mr Piccolo. How would you feel about Gohan training at the Satan gym?"

Gohan practically choked on his hotdog. Straight to the point, no beating around the bush. Now to see how Piccolo reacted. To her surprise, he just seemed to quirk an invisible eyebrow. When he spoke, he addressed Gohan rather than her.

"Gohan, does this girl actually know anything about you?"

Videl didn't think he sounded angry. More like he was annoyed.

"Erm, a little. I've only known her a bit more than a week."

"Then if she knows even a little bit about you, why the hell is she suggesting that you join that idiot's gym?"

"That Idiot?" interrupted Videl before Gohan managed to answer. "He may be a little slow but my father did save the whole world. What gives you the right to insult him?"

She'd completely gotten over her fears of the man and was now poking him in the chest.

Piccolo's face seemed tense all of a sudden. Then the man broke out into laughter. The laugh was harsh and hollow, showing that it was clearly something Piccolo didn't do often. Suddenly Videl was afraid again. The laughter only seemed to last a few seconds. Then Piccolo's expression seemed to return to neutral.

"Hercule is her father? You sure know how to pick em Kid."

The entire group seemed to stop when they heard Piccolo's laughter; a sound so rare most of them had never heard it. But this meant that everyone heard what Piccolo said afterwards. Master Roshi let out a sigh.

Suddenly there came another set of laughter, this one even harsher than Piccolo's. Videl saw it was Vegeta. The man had burst into hysterics. But no one was turning to look at him, they were all staring at her. Bulma seemed to hold a look of pure surprise. Chi-Chi seemed to be looking at her with something akin to betrayal. The rest were just… looking at her.

'I guess they must really not like my father,' she thought to herself. She didn't feel like she wanted to be there anymore. Normally when people learned who she was they were happy to meet the daughter of the world champion.

**DING DONG**

The ringing bell seemed to break everyone out of their stupor.

"I wonder who that could be?" wondered Bulma aloud. "Everyone should already be here."

She quickly left to answer the doorbell.

Everyone one else went back to stare at her. It was like none of them were sure what to say. Well none of them except Vegeta.

"Of all people for Kakarot's brat to bring with him it had to be the daughter of that great oaf. The man who brought unjust ridicule to his father even after his death."

Videl felt her skin crawl as Vegeta smirked at her.

"The irony of the situation is of such proportions even I feel embarrassed for you Gohan. To bring the daughter of the man who spat on your father's grave. Who ridiculed his sacrifice."

Gohan glared at the man.

"Just shut up Vegeta. It's none of your business."

"Umm, guys perhaps you could discuss this later?"

Bulma stood in the doorway. Her hands were up in the air and she seemed to be struggling not to laugh. Behind her were two men, both had their faces covered by masks. The smaller of the two had a pistol pointed into the small of Bulma's back.

"Looks like the info was right. Capsule. Corp was having a big party," said the smaller of the two men. "And anyone who's attending a Capsule. corp party has got to be rich. Alright everyone listen up. You going to get out all your valuables and give them to my partner here."

The other man suddenly pulled a large bag out.

"Do what we say and no one gets hurt."

Videl let her mouth hang open, Vegeta's comments forgotten. She had to do something. She couldn't just let everyone get robbed. She was a crime fighter after all. But before she could act everyone in the room seemed to burst into laughter. Krillin was holding his sides as tears came out his eyes. Master Roshi had fell onto his back as he went into hysterics. Even Gohan seemed to be holding back a giggle. Videl was in shock now. These guys had a gun and were threatening to shoot Bulma. _Why were they laughing?_

The laughter was cut off as an angry voice cut through it.

"ARE YOU THREATENING MY WOMAN!"

It was Vegeta, his face full of seething rage. Veins seemed to be popping out his forehead.

"Hey now tough guy. You just stay right there. My fingers a little itchy. It'd be a shame if I accidently squeezed now wouldn't i-"

The man never got to finish his sentence. Vegeta had simply appeared next to the man. He'd grabbed the gun and crushed it in his hand.

Videl was in awe as metal was reduced to dust under Vegeta's grip. But he didn't stop there. The short man tried punching Vegeta. Vegeta caught the fist and squeezed. There was a sickening crunch and Videl saw blood ooze between Vegeta's fingers. The other man dropped the bag and seemed to fumble with a gun he had in his pocket. Vegeta didn't let him get far. He grabbed the man by the throat and threw him into the air. The man rose about fifty feet before he came falling down screaming. He was caught by Krillin before he impacted with the ground, but the man fainted with his face a mere inch from the floor.

Vegeta turned his attention back to the man in front of him, who was screaming in pain as his hand had been crushed into a bloody pulp. The man's screams didn't seem to do anything to appease Vegeta's temper.

"I will rip your head from your shoulders you worthless weakling. You will pay for daring to point one of your weak earthling weapons at my woman."

The man looked terrified as venom seemed to drip from Vegeta's mouth. Gohan was there suddenly, his hand on Vegeta's shoulder.

"That's enough Vegeta. They haven't hurt anybody. Let's just call the police."

Vegeta didn't seem to register Gohan's words, too busy trying to come up with the most terrible way possible of killing the man in front of him.

"Vegeta!" Gohan said again, squeezing Vegeta's shoulder. Vegeta seemed to wince and finally turned to face Gohan.

"He threatened my woman brat. He deserves to be destroyed!"

Gohan fixed Vegeta with a glare. "Let it go Vegeta. Bulma's fine."

"He's right Vegeta. Look, I'm completely fine."

Vegeta snarled at her.

"Quiet woman. This has nothing to do with you."

Suddenly there was a loud clang. Bulma had picked up a conveniently placed frying pan and smacked it of Vegeta's head. Videl winced as she watched the spectacle. Vegeta however barely seemed to feel it. He just looked annoyed she'd hit him in the first place.

"What the hell was that for," Vegeta roared.

"Nothing to do with me? IT WAS ME HE POINTED THE GUN AT!"

Suddenly the robbers seemed forgotten as everyone watched the lovers quarrel. But out of the corner of her eye Videl noticed a movement. It was the second Robber, recovering consciousness. He pulled out his gun successfully this time.

"Monster!" the man roared, pointing the gun at Vegeta, as everyone finally noticed he was back on his feet.

But Videl was already there. She kicked the gun up as the man squeezed the trigger, letting the bullet fire off harmlessly in the air. Next she buried a fist into the man's stomach forcing him to keel forwards. Finally she grabbed the man's head and rammed it down into her waiting knee. The man fell backwards, unconscious again. Videl quickly kicked the gun away.

There was silence as everyone seemed to stare at her again and she felt herself blush under there gaze. Then suddenly.

"That wasn't half bad kid!"

Krillin had swung an arm round her shoulder and was grinning widely at her.

"Those were some good reactions."

Suddenly everyone else had gone over to thank her and commend her as well. Videl found herself at the centre of attention, blushing profusely as everyone complimented her. Only Vegeta and Gohan held back, Vegeta's expression unreadable but Gohan's had a look of content as he saw Videl fitting in with his friends.

"She didn't do anything," remarked Vegeta. "A bullet isn't going to hurt anyone here."

Gohan nodded his agreement.

"It's the thought that counts Vegeta. She's different from her father you knos. She hasn't done or said anything bad either. So what are we going to do with these guys?"

Gohan nodded at the unconscious robber at their feet. He seemed to have fainted out of sheer terror.

"I'll call the police," said Vegeta calmly. He turned and headed into the house.

* * *

The walk back home was somewhat quiet. Gohan was walking next to her but wasn't saying anything. Once the police had come and taken the two men away everyone had went straight back to the party, laughing, joking and having a good time. No one mentioned Videl's father again but seemed more than happy to talk to her if she approached them. Chi-Chi was an exception as she seemed determined to interrogate Videl on the size of her house and how many servants she had. But she hadn't really spoken to Gohan for the rest of the party. Eventually it had been time for her to go, although almost everyone else seemed to be staying the night. Of course Bulma had told Gohan to walk her back.

"Feel free to come back whenever you'd like," said Bulma smiling as she waved them off.

But after five minutes of walking neither of them had said a word. Eventually Videl just couldn't take the silence any more.

"Gohan, what did that Vegeta mean. When he was speaking about our father's."

It had really bothered her. Ridiculing Gohan's father's sacrifice. She'd learned that Goku was dead, but he'd sacrificed himself? And her father had insulted Goku's sacrifice? She didn't remember her father doing anything like that. But then she couldn't remember all of her father's press conferences.

"Don't worry about it," said Gohan, his voice somewhat muffled by his coat.

Videl looked at him from the corner of her eye.

"I am going to worry about it. Whatever he meant, it involves my father, and by extension of that, it involves me. I have a right to know," she said. She tried to keep her voice calm. She could tell by Gohan's face that this was a sensitive subject for him.

"Vegeta was exaggerating. You Dad never did any of those things. It's just… my Dad was a really good guy. He helped a lot of people. And when he died it was so that everyone else could live. But no one is ever going to know about it."

So like she'd thought, Goku had sacrificed his life. But she was curious about Gohan's choice of words. Everyone else?

"How did he die?" she asked softly. She knew that Gohan probably didn't want to talk about this but curiosity was getting the better of her.

"A bomb," Gohan said eventually. "Just like the ending of that movie we saw. He took a big bomb away where it couldn't hurt anyone, but he didn't have any chance of getting away from the blast."

Videl was rather shocked to hear that. She stared up at the sky. It had started snowing again, like the sky had opened up and sent what they could to comfort Gohan. He sounded so sad as he spoke about his father.

"He sounds like a great man," Videl said finally. Gohan didn't answer. She turned to look at him and stopped dead when she did. Gohan had stopped walking and there were a few tears in his eyes. He seemed to be struggling to blink back his tears. Before she could stop herself Videl had ran forward and flung her arms around Gohan. She was shocked by her own actions but she didn't pull away from him. She cradled his head on her shoulder and to her surprise Gohan hugged her back. She found she didn't mind. Until he squeezed and suddenly felt like her back was going to break.

Gohan sniffled back his tears at last as Videl managed to gasp out.

"Too tight Gohan, your hurting me."

Gohan finally seemed to realize he was crushing her and quickly let go, pulling away from her. The both stood there, staring at each other, and simultaneously both their faces turned red.

"We should get going," said Gohan, breaking the silence. "Don't want to catch a cold."

He quickly walked past her trying to hide his blush. Once he'd take a few steps Videl turned to follow him. She followed behind him silently, staring at his back as she walked. It seemed bigger than before.

Videl found herself blushing again.

**Looks like it cleared 4000 words again. This story was supposed to be short 2000 word odd chapters, but now I'm writing twice that much. **


	7. Cheerful Rice

**I struggled a bit writing this. It was difficult actually putting this stuff down in a way that made sense but hopefully I managed it. Well I'll let you guys tell me what you think. And now it's typo free, enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonball Z nor any of its super special awesome characters.**

If she was being honest to herself, Videl had been scared. She'd been scared that maybe Gohan hated her, and was only pretending to be nice. She didn't know why the thought scared her so much. She didn't care if anyone else hated her. And there were lots of people who pretended to be nice to her in the hopes of sucking up to her father. Vegeta had said her father belittled Gohan's. And even if he refused to tell her what her father had done, and even said Vegeta was exaggerating, she was under no illusion that meant her father was entirely innocent either. It was until the day after the party she realised there were bugger questions. Vegeta, the angry man, had thrown a person at least fifty feet into the air, and crushed a gun between his fingers. But when Videl tried to focus on this she found that she didn't really care. That stuff could come later. Right now she wanted to find out if Gohan was really her friend. He'd said she was. They went to see a movie together, played games together and they'd even sparred together. Although that last one had more with Videl wanting an excuse to kick his ass more than be friends with him. She'd avoided her father when she got home. He wouldn't give her any answers. He never did.

Three days later Videl wasn't any closer to discovering the truth. Gohan wasn't giving her any answers. Just told her not to worry about it. Erasa had noticed Videl's sullen mood too, but she wasn't about to discuss the problem with her. Not when Gohan was so deeply rooted into them. Well maybe telling her a little wouldn't hurt.

"Do you think Gohan's really my friend?" asked Videl. Her usually fiery temperament had been absent the last few days. Not that she wasn't quick to anger, but she'd stopped scaring anyone who looked at her for more than three seconds.

"Of course he is," said Erasa, not really getting how this could be Videl's problem. "Well we don't really eat lunch with him. Or see him outside of school. Oh my god Videl, we never invite Gohan anywhere do we?"

"I went to the movies with him once."

Uh oh, thought Videl, honing in on her mistake as soon as she said it.

"Just the two of you? Videl did you go on a date with Gohan?"

Erasa was smiling a sly smile at her as they walked down the school's hall.

"It wasn't a date," Videl reprimanded, blushing slightly.

"Sure it wasn't," said Erasa, still smiling.

They carried on walking for a few seconds in silence.

"So, did you two kiss?"

Videl almost tripped on her own feet.

"What, No we did not!" Videl burst out a little angrily, glaring at her so called best friend.

Erasa giggled.

"Then did the two of you at least cuddle?"

Videl went to retort again, but an image of her flinging her arms around Gohan a few days ago instantly filled her mind.

Videl hesitated a little too long, and Erasa honed in on it straight away.

"You did," Erasa squealed.

Videl blushed profusely trying to avoid her friends twinkling gaze. She knew talking to Erasa about it was a bad idea.

"He was upset, I was trying to cheer him up," Videl said in an attempt to diffuse what conception Erasa's mind was working up.

"So you jump the verbal stage and go straight to the hugging stage?" said Erasa wryly, a semi evil grin plastered on her face.

Videl found herself blushing again.

"It was kind of instinctual," she said, not realising that probably wasn't the best thing to say.

"So you instinctually jumped into his arms? Wow Videl, you must really like Gohan."

Videl shook her head angrily.

"I DON'T LIKE GOHAN AT ALL!" burst out Videl angrily.

Everyone in the hall seemed to stop what they were doing to stare at her. Including the black haired, onyx eyed teen who'd just exited his classroom.

Videl turned away from Erasa to stare straight at her classroom, finally noticing Gohan staring back at her. He raised an eyebrow, turned on his feet and walked off down the hall. Videl left her mouth hanging open as she watched him go.

"Wow, nice going Videl," said Erasa with a whistle.

"Grrr, this is your fault!" Videl growled at her friend.

"Sure it is. But rather than standing here pointing blame, don't you think you should, you know, go after him?"

Videl fixed Erasa with another glare, but then silently stalked off after Gohan.

It didn't take too long to find him. He was at his locker, grabbing stuff out of there and putting it in his bag. Videl crept up behind him as silent as possible. Obviously not silent enough, because Gohan quickly closed his locker and turned to face her with a smile.

"Hi Videl," he said, not losing his grin.

"Err, hi Gohan," replied Videl, suddenly feeling small. How was she going to explain herself.

"Did you want something?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at her when she didn't say anything.

"Yeah. I didn't mean too… that is…"

She had no idea what to say. She sighed to herself and turned her head to avoid his gaze.

"Would you like to eat lunch with us today?" she tried. She still didn't turn to face him.

"I thought you didn't like me?" asked Gohan with a mischievous smile.

"That was… not what I meant," said Videl quietly, looking at the floor.

Gohan smiled a big a smile at her.

"I know," he said happily.

Videl was suddenly looking him in the eyes.

"You what…?"

Gohan chuckled to herself.

"I don't know if you noticed but I'm on the receiving end of a lot of teasing myself, so I can recognize the different reactions people have to it at least. I'm really smart remember?"

"Really?" asked Videl, raising an eyebrow. "You seem pretty dense to me."

It was true, he didn't realise how going to the movies, just the two of them could be seen the wrong way, or how he confused going out with going outside.

Gohan pouted at her.

"Am not!"

Videl giggled at his reaction.

"Whatever, class starts soon so don't be late."

She began walking off again.

"And sit with us at lunch today."

* * *

The group watched in awe as Gohan devoured his meal.

He'd sat with Videl and her friends today, just like Videl had asked.

Erasa, Sharpner, Angie, Jazz from her gym and his friend Richards were sat down with them too, Jazz and Richards being two years older but still at the school.

All of them could only stare in shock as they watched Gohan devour his meal. Of course Videl had seen the stack of hotdogs he had at the party but she'd thought he was handing them out or something. Now she could see that she was wrong.

Gohan had brought his own lunch in the form of a capsule. Or six capsule's… and counting. Every capsule seemed to have an assortment of about five large dishes. Every time he finished off a capsule's worth of food, he'd put it away and bring out another one. Finally after his seventh capsule worth of food, Gohan seemed to stop eating, rubbing his stomach and leaning back into his chair with a sigh of content. Only then did he notice the others staring at him.

"What?" he said innocently.

* * *

The group of friends, minus Jazz and Angie and Richards, were heading out of school. Videl was still worrying over what Gohan thought of her. Not that she wanted him to be in love with her or anything, but it's be nice to know that he was definitely friends with her and not just pretending to be nice only to reveal he'd been plotting revenge the entire time later on. The quickest way to sort this out would be to beat the crap out of him and force him to be her slave, she decided. She frowned to herself. _Why did she keep thinking that?_

She shook her head trying to clear away the strange thoughts.

"Hey Gohan, do you want to go to the movies with us tomorrow," asked Erasa suddenly. Videl whipped he head round. They were going to the movies tomorrow? And no one informed her?

Erasa noticed her staring.

"You're going too Videl."

Videl pouted at her but didn't say anything.

"I'd love too," said Gohan brightly from behind her. "But I'm busy tomorrow."

"Oh," said Erasa with a frown.

"But, if you're doing anything after that, then please invite me," Gohan said with an apologetic smile.

Erasa smiled back at him. "We will. Won't we Videl?"

Videl was caught out by the sudden question but didn't let it show.

"Sure," she said with a shrug off the shoulders.

"Well I don't mind just so long as I don't have to foot his food bill," said Sharpner, earning a blank stare from Gohan and a giggle from Erasa. Videl ignored his existence, pretending he'd never spoken.

They said goodbye to Gohan on the way back, as he had to head in a different direction to get back to Capsule Corp. The three friends watched him go then continued on their way.

"I've got to break of too," said Videl after a minute.

"Why?" asked Erasa, looking at Videl with an inquisitively raised eyebrow.

"Because someone suddenly sprung on me that we're going out tomorrow so I need to get some money." She said, shooting a glare at Erasa.

Erasa, having long since gotten used to Videl's glares, only giggled.

"Alright then, shoo," said Erasa with a giggle, making shooing motions with her hand.

Videl pouted at her friend's antics before she began walking down a different road without a word.

Videl withdrew money from the ATM machine just outside the bank. Like all teenage girls in movies she carried her father's card around. She quickly put the zennie in her wallet (Videl doesn't have a purse) which she then stuffed in her pocket. But when she turned around she noticed a large group of people moving into the bank. Two of them were holding bags and they all had their faces covered by masks. Suspicious much? How did they get through town without being arrested, looking like that?

Sure enough a minute after they entered the bank she heard screams from inside and yells from the would be robbers for all of them too shut up. She heard gunfire and the screaming stopped. If they'd shot someone there would be more screaming so that meant they'd shot in the air to get people's attention. Videl quickly pulled her phone out and called the police, informing them of what was happening. Next she quietly approached the door, taking a peek inside through the see through doors. All the people were on the floor with their hands on her head. The robbers were walking round pointing some seriously big guns at the people on the floor. The one that looked like the leader, because he was the one not doing anything yet, had his own gun slung round his shoulder and seemed to be issuing commands. She wandered if there was a way she could sneak inside without being seen. The sound of sirens interrupted her thoughts.

"Shit!" she thought. There's no way they'd let her go in. But then did she really want too. If the crooks just had pistols then maybe she could do something, but assault rifles and SMG's were a bit harder to deal with.

The cops were there seconds later and had dragged her away from the door. Eventually negotiations began. With a fat cop with a speaker phone yelling deals at the crooks inside the bank. Videl was getting annoyed. There had to be a quicker way. She wasn't entirely confident about taking out all the robbers, but they could always try calling her dad. He'd definitely do something. She hoped.

Videl was getting frustrated. Maybe she should do something after all. She'd just have to convince the police chief to let her. But before she could do anything a man brushed past her. She could only see him from behind, but he had something red tied round his neck and a long brown coat that fell down to his ankles.

'Just needs a Stetson,' thought Videl. The man simply ignored the police who didn't notice his presence until he'd stepped out and started approaching the bank.

"Hey you there, stop there is a robbery in progress!"

The new guy didn't seem to register what the police chief shouted, just ignored him in favour of going in the bank. The man grabbed the handle and strolled on in without a care in the world.

Videl expected to hear gunfire. She didn't. Maybe he was their ally.

One of the robbers was suddenly flung through the glass door screaming. He landed with a heavy thud at the fat cops feet.

The cops were in shock for a second before orders started to be issued. The fat cop was waving his hand with a pointing gesture and several cops closed in on the bank. They all stood to the side of the door, with the two in the lead peeping through the Brocken window.

"Robbers are all down," one of them screamed over. Suddenly all the police descended on the place.

Videl followed them without any of them seeming to notice. She stepped over the broken glass into the bank. The police seemed to be helping people up or cuffing the unconscious/groaning thugs. She looked around searching for the strange man who'd went in moments before. She spotted him at the counter, apparently demanding the scared lady behind the counter to serve him.

"I said I want you to put this in my vault!" he bellowed, slamming his hand down on a duffle bag he'd placed on the counter.

Videl carefully approached him, trying not to daw much attention to herself until she reached him.

"I'm sorry sir, but we're still in lockdown, and without the managers approval I can't do anything at the moment," the frightened girl said back. The man growled at her before turning to face the approaching Videl. It was the first good look she'd got of him. He looked about twenty, with shoulder length straight black hair. His eyes were pale blue and glaring down at her. He wore an orange bandanna around his neck over a black shirt and with his long brown coat. He wore tattered jeans with green socks and white sneakers.

"Hello," said Videl nervously.

"What do you want," asked the man, glaring at her.

"Erm, what happened?" Videl asked innocently, doing her best not to be intimidated by his glare.

"To what?" replied the man raising an eyebrow.

"Erm, the robbers?"

"Robbers?" questioning the man, looking round to see the crooks being carried off by the police. "Oh them, well they were really loud so I shut them up a bit," he replied casually.

Videl let her mouth hang open. Did the guy seriously not realise they were bank robbers. The police chief walked over to them, or waddled over depending on how you look at it.

"Well young man it seems we have you to thank for stopping these villains," the police chief said politely.

The man smiled at the chief, turning to face him.

"Looks that way. So how much do I get?"

The police chief gave him a confused stare.

"Excuse… me?"

"Well I stopped the robbers right. Surely I get a reward for that?"

The police chief didn't really seem to know what to say.

"Umm, well you'll get a medal of appreciation," he said with a bit of uncertainty.

The man lost his smile.

"What, that's it? Laaame. Alright I'm out of here."

He quickly picked up the duffle bag.

"I'll be back tomorrow," he said to the lady at the desk. Then he walked off out the bank. Videl frowned and ran after him.

"Hey, wait up," she yelled. He stopped about half way up the street and turned to face her. Videl stopped in front of him. She was still wearing her weighted clothes, but she was getting used to them. She still found herself a little out of breath though.

"How did you do that?" she asked once she'd caught her breath.

"Do what?" the man asked, feigning ignorance.

Videl growled at him.

"Beat up those robbers so quickly, before they could even fire at you."

"I punched them," he flat lined, earning him a glare from Videl.

"So you're a martial artist," she said with a puff. To her surprise the man laughed at her.

"Martial arts? Nah, I don't have time to waste on that bullshit. And practicing all those forms and techniques? Boooring. What I did was Violence, pure and simple. No martial arts kid."

Videl frowned. To her that didn't make any sense. You could only get good enough to fight off armed thugs through martial arts. Just being strong isn't going to cut it.

"Do you have a lot of fighting experience?" she tried, figuring that it might make more sense if he did.

"Not really," the man answered with a shrug of his shoulders. "Haven't found anyone fun to fight in years. Haven't really fought anyone since before Cell either."

"So you don't beat up large groups of robbers often?" Videl asked, hardly believing this man. Was she really supposed to believe someone that strong just… existed?

"That doesn't count as fighting," the man said back. "That was just a one sided beat down."

The man then turned round and continued walking, having apparently lost interest in her. Videl ran till she was next to him then kept pace.

"How did you get so strong then?" she asked, honestly curious despite his rude attitude.

"Born like it," the man replied, continuing to walk.

"How can you be born strong? No one's born strong. They have to build themselves up to it. Train and work hard."

"Well I've never done any of those things," the man said.

"Well you've got to have done something to get that strong," said Videl, not backing down.

Suddenly the man turned on her.

"Look kid, what I have or haven't done is none of your Business, now shut up and leave me a-,"

Suddenly he stopped talking. He was staring at her as if he'd just seen her for the first time. He tilted his head, and Videl felt herself shift uncomfortably under his gaze.

"What's that you got on under your shirt?" he asked.

Videl felt her cheeks flush.

"Erm, waited clothes," she said. She'd left her jacket undone, and a bit of blue could be seen peeking up under her shirt

The man seemed to regard her for a second. Then he grinned.

"I see," he said at last. "Well I've got to be on my way. Don't bother following me kid or I'll beat you into the ground too. See ya."

He turned round with a wave, heading round a corner. Videl fumed. _How DARE he threaten her!_

She quickly ran round the corner and stopped.

"Where'd he go," she said aloud. The street was empty but there wasn't anywhere he could have gone.

"Well I've got one clue on who he is."

He recognized Master Roshi's clothes. She'd have to ask the old pervert about it the next to he saw the geezer. She turned round and headed back the way she came, intent on finding out who the man was.

Up in the air Android Seventeen watched with a grin on his face as he watched the girl turn on her heels and head back. He'd been so bored lately.

'I think I'll have some fun with this girl.'

He gave a chuckle before disappearing, leaving the sky empty once more.

**Yes, Seventeen makes an appearance. Just like every other teen Gohan story. But the question is, is he an ally or an enemy. Find out, at some later point. It's not going to be next chapter. But it might be the one after that. Nah, maybe the one after that. You know what I can't decide, but you'll find out eventually. It's come to my attention that 10 reviews seems a little too easy for you guys, so in an effort to get myself a day of, I've come up with a new proposal. Let's all try aiming for 14 reviews. Within hours of you guys managing that I solemnly swear I will update the next chapter. Unless I'm asleep, which does account for about 60% of my day. So you guys up to the challenge. Let's find out. R&R. **


	8. Training with Rice

**Wow you guys are awesome. All those reviews and so quickly. I love you all. Except one of you, please don't use any derogatory guest names. It's not nice, so I had to get rid of it. Well this is another slightly shorter than normal chapter, just under 3000 words. Hopefully you don't mind. Well once again I had a bit of difficulty writing the first scene of this fic. I wasn't sure what angle I should tackle it from. Hopefully I've done alright by you and by me. Now I will address some things I meant to last chapter. Rice is included in all the chapter titles because apparently Gohan means rice or something like that. Son Goshen, I've tried doing Line Separators, sorry for any confusion I might have caused before. Khim, your right about Vegeta, he probably would refer to Bulma as his mate rather than his wife. I might get round to changing that later on depending on how lazy I'm feeling. Well I think that's it. Who wants cake? No one, just me then.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any more cake. Turns out I ate it all. I don't own Dragonball Z either. **

Videl was in hot pursuit of a criminal, and loving every second of it. She hadn't been doing her patrols lately, but ever since meeting that odd man at the bank she'd gotten back into it. Now, a full week after, she was back in the game, arresting a crook every day or so. And in her weighted clothes, it turned out to be great training, though even those barely slowed her down now as she continued running at a break neck pace after her latest victim... arrestee. Definitely ment arrestee. Is arrestee the right word? Videl frowned to herself. She'd worry about that later.

The man she was chasing was fast. He wore a plain white mask that covers his face under a dark blue hoody. It kind of reminded her of Gohan when she first met him. The man, for he was a man, standing well over six feet tall had robbed a jewellery store. The man had cleaned the place out, beaten the two security guards into submission and was still running faster than Videl whilst hauling round the stash of stolen goods. Well that was about to change. As she was running, Videl quickly removed the weighted wrist bands from her wrist. Then she carefully aimed and lobbed one at the retreating villains head. She smirked as it thudded off his head. The things can pack a bit of a wallop considering they're just clothes. The man stumbled forward but didn't stop running. Videl carried on after him. As he jumped a fence, so did she. In mid-air, she put a hand under her baggy bottoms and with practiced ease removed the two ankle bands. Now she only had the top to shed from beneath her shirt. That one would be more of a problem to take off, considering it would involve indecent exposure so she decided to keep that one on. She'd just shed eighty lbs of weight anyway, it should be enough.

With the extra weight shed, Videl was now quickly catching up to the running man, at a pace she was happy to notice. She could not have managed this before she'd started training with Master Roshi's clothes. When the distance between them was no more than a few feet, Videl lunged. The two were running through an alley at this point, so when Videl grabbed him 'round the waist the two fell down. They landed heavily in a pile of trash and Videl rolled off him. Happily thinking she'd succeeded in catching yet another criminal, she quickly approached the seemingly unconscious man, only for another one, dressed in exactly the same outfit, to drop down out of nowhere. Quick as a flash, he aimed a punch at her head, which Videl only managed to dodge by a millimetre.

"What the hell," she barked, dodging a fast kick from the man. Next the man she'd brought down quickly got up as well. Seeming to abandon his sack of jewels, he joined his fiend in trying to beat the crap out of Videl. They were fast and strong. Almost as strong as Videl used to be. She brought her forearm up to block a fast strike and jumped up to avoid a sweeping kick. The two were no amateur martial artists. If it had been three weeks ago then she'd already be on her ass. Once again, she realized how foolish she'd been back then to believe she was strong enough. She continued to fend off her attackers but grimaced every time she blocked a blow. The guys hit hard and she was pretty sure her arms were going to be bruised by tomorrow.

"She's better than we were told," one of the men said in a deep voice.

"Still not good enough though," said the other.

Suddenly, the two increased their pace. Videl was being pressed. One went to her left side and one to her right. The one on the left attacked her from below with a sweeping kick. She jumped to dodge, but this was what they wanted. The one who went right had kicked off the wall and into the air. Videl brought her arms up to block the aerial assault, but could only do so much. A heavy heel was brought down on her arms and Videl was shot back down to the ground. She landed heavily on her back and cracked her head off of the pavement. Suddenly, she felt dizzy and the back of her head felt wet.

"She wasn't bad at all," said one of the men, panting slightly. The other walked back over to the jewellery bag.

Videl was furious. She may be beaten, and probably concussed, but how dare that man turn his back on her. With slightly shaking hands and legs, Videl worked her way back up to her feet. Standing once again, she fixed the two men with a heavy glare. The one with the deep voice who'd gone to retrieve the jewellery snorted.

"Don't bother, your clearly hurt. It won't even be a challenge for one of us to beat you down now.

Videl didn't speak, just continued to glare at the man. She was aware of something wet running down the back of her head, but she did her best to ignore that and focus on the two men.

"Besides, our boss wants you for himself. Let's go."

The man gestured to his partner for them to leave and they promptly did so. Videl tried to follow but found that a single step and she was close to falling down on her face. So instead, she sank to her knees in defeat and allowed herself to cry.

* * *

Seventeen watched the entire fight with some fascination. Those two weren't normal fighters. Of course they were nowhere near his level. In fact, they wouldn't even be a match for that perverted old hermit. But for the girl they were too much. Seventeen hopped off the building he was standing on, falling a good forty feet or so to land lightly on his feet. Amazingly, no one seemed to notice. Or care, one of the two. Seventeen searched for any cops nearby. Spotting one, he smiled, and whistled over to the man. The blue clad copper frowned at Seventeen, who was waving him over. He slowly approached and Seventeen gave him a smile. It wasn't supposed to be creepy or anything like that, but the cop got chills anyway.

"What do you want," asked the copper, giving Seventeen a wary look.

"Heard some fighting in the ally," answered Seventeen. "Someone might be hurt. I think you should give it a look."

The cop didn't seem to believe him, but one glare from Seventeen was all it took for the cop to put a hand on the butt of his revolver and head into the ally. Satisfied, Seventeen turned to leave.

* * *

Despite everything she did, Videl was not used to hospitals. Sure she'd been beat up once or twice, but always in controlled environments. Out there, she'd always had the upper hand. She didn't know what annoyed her more about the place. The reporters outside who she could hear constantly, the fact she wasn't allowed to leave the hospital room or do any training, or her annoying father who wouldn't stop sniveling.

"Dad, for the last time, I'm fine," she said, resting her head on her hand and not looking at the grown man bawling his eyes out beside her.

"But Videl, what if you'd been killed! I knew it! this whole criminal catching stuff is just too dangerous. Videl, I don't think you should do it anymore."

Videl's temper had been building over the last hour her father had been here, and now it was near breaking point.

"Someone's got to, and it might as well be me. I might not be strong enough right now, but I'll get stronger. A lot stronger."

She was trying not to just outright yell at her father, but it was proving difficult. Luckily, it would seem God had decided to be merciful today.

"Miss Videl, your friends from school are here to visit, would you like to see them?" a nice looking nurse asked, peeking her head round the door.

"Yes please," said Videl with an air of relief.

The nurse quickly disappeared and ten minutes later the door was opened to reveal her friends. Erasa, Sharpner, Jazz, Ruby and of course Gohan. They all quickly piled into the room, except Gohan, who walked in calmly, looking at her father and then looking away.

"Oh my god Videl, are you okay?" asked Erasa with evident concern.

Videl nodded.

"I'm fine. They're just going to keep me here over night to make sure there's nothing wrong, then I can go home."

"Hey it's Hercule!" gasped Sharpner, bypassing Videl completely to stare at the bumbling man on her bed.

"Sir, I am your biggest fan. If you don't mind I'd really love to join your gym and possibly date your daughter!"

Hercule stared at the fan boy for a second before his stare turned hostile.

"Date my daughter? Fool, I'll only accept someone who can defeat me as an acceptable match for my daughter. Besides, I thought she liked that kid," he said, pointing at Gohan who was trying to remain inconspicuous. Pretty much the entire room turned to face him.

"Brains you bastard, you were trying to steal my girlfriend!" yelled Sharpner angrily.

Gohan waved his hands in front of him.

"No I'm not. And anyway she's not your girlfriend."

"Excuse me," yelled Videl from her bed, her face red, with embarrassment or rage, no one was sure. "First of all Sharpner, there is no chance in hell EVER, that I'd go out with you, even if you could beat my Dad. And second, I like Gohan as a friend, nothing more."

"Sure you do," muttered Erasa with a giggle. Videl ignored her. "Dad, get out. You've been neglected the gym. And tell those reporters who won't leave that I'm fine while you're at it. Sharpner, take a hint and fuck off."

Hercule suddenly started.

"Now listen here Videl. You are my daughter. I won't tolerate the use of such language, even if the little turd does deserve it," growled Hercule in an attempt to control his daughter.

"Sorry," said Videl insincerely. "Sharpner, duck off."

Erasa let out a slightly louder giggle.

"Erasa stop giggling," Videl demanded. She turned to stare as Jazz and Ruby.

"You two, get Sharpner and my Dad out, I don't think they're getting it."

To everyone's surprise the two did as she told. Jazz grabbed Sharpner and dragged him out despite his screaming protests, whilst Ruby gave Hercule a seductive wink and led him out by the hand. This left just Videl, Erasa and Gohan in the room.

"Erasa, I need to talk to Gohan. Could you go and buy us some drinks or something," Videl pleaded, losing the harsh tone when addressing her friend.

Erasa was about to tease Videl about wanting some alone time with Gohan, but then she noticed the steeled, determined look in her friends eyes. Without another word, she left the room. Videl turned to stare at the last one in the room, fixing him with her steely gaze.

"Gohan, do you remember how you said you'd pay me back for taking you to the movies, but then you never did?"

Gohan frowned, giving her a strange look.

"Yeah, but I said I'd show up at your dad's gym. I'm just not joining."

Videl shook her head.

"I don't want you to do that anymore. Especially after what that man Vegeta said. Gohan, I want you to train me."

Gohan was visibly taken back. He didn't even respond.

"Yesterday showed me that I'm still nowhere near good enough. I could train as I am now for months and still not beat those guys. But I recognize something else as well. Those two were nowhere near your level. If it was you, you would have easily beaten them. So please Gohan, help me get stronger."

She fixed him with a determined stare, her hands clutching the bed sheets hard enough for them to go red.

Gohan seemed lost for a second, as if he didn't know what to do. This proud girl, who he was sure wouldn't accept help of anybody, was asking him to train her. Somewhere inside him, it made him happy that she would ask. But how could he train her. He thought on it for a minute. Then, he smiled.

"Alright," he said. "But on one condition."

"What's that," asked Videl with some uncertainty.

"Come to Capsule Corp. on Sunday. Until then no training, you have to rest," said Gohan with a smile.

Videl's mouth gaped open. No training, that's just not fair. She LOVED training. She loved getting stronger. But if this is what it took to train with Gohan, then she'd do it.

"Alright," she said, nodding her head. "I promise."

Gohan smiled at her. "I'll know if you break your promise," he told her. "And if you do, I'll turn you round at the door when you show up on Sunday."

Videl nodded her head.

"Deal."

Suddenly the door burst open, and Hercule rocketed into the room, grabbing Gohan by his collar.

"What are you doing alone in a room with my daughter you punk!"

The two teens sweat dropped.

* * *

Sunday came faster than Videl thought. Surprisingly, finding other things to do hadn't been as hard as she'd thought. She'd bought a game console, having never bothered with one before. She wondered if training on Satan fighter counted as breaking her promise. She was struggling to beat Cell on single player, but she felt much more confident for her victory the next time she went to an arcade with Gohan. Well, Gohan mustn't have minded because he answered the door in a white sweat shirt and black slacks. He smiled and led her through the house. Eventually they came to a room Videl hadn't seen the last time she was here. It was completely empty except for a control podium in the bottom. And a little Kid with purple hair standing by the console. The kid could only be about three, wearing shorts and a yellow Capsule Corp. shirt. He was sucking his thumb and staring at her.

"You wearing your weighted clothes?" asked Gohan as he went over to the control podium.

Videl frowned. "How'd you know about that?" she asked. Luckily, she had spares to replace the ones she'd lost in the chase the other day.

"Doesn't matter," answered Gohan shaking his head.

"Vegeta pretty much hogs this room every day," Gohan began to explain for some reason. "But Bulma insists he act like an actual husband and take her out on Sundays."

'So he was explaining why they could only do this today,' thought Videl.

Suddenly, Gohan hit a button and Videl almost fell to her knees. She felt heavier. A lot heavier. She over to Gohan and the kid. Neither of them seemed bothered, so whatever happened it must have just happened to her.

"By the way, this is Trunks. Say Hi trunks,"

"Hi lady," said Trunks, taking his thumb out his mouth.

Videl was struggling just a tiny bit to stay standing.

"What did you do?" she asked eventually, trying to keep herself up."

"Hmm, Gravity room," said Gohan as if it wasn't that big a deal. "I just doubled the gravity, hardly noticeable."

Hardly noticeable her ass, she was gritting her teeth just trying to take a step forward. She did though, albeit slowly. Maybe wearing the weighted clothes wasn't such a good idea. At least now she knew how Gohan got so strong.

"You know I don't think I've ever actually been in here. I've always wanted to try it, but Vegeta would never let me."

Okay, so she still had no idea. Why the hell isn't this bothering him?

"Okay so what are we doing?" asked Videl, taking another step forwards. "Sparring? Jogging? Push-ups?"

Gohan smiled. "None of the above. What you're going to be doing is…"

He smiled remembering his Dad telling him about his training on King Kai's planet. He put a hand on Trunk's head.

"Trying to catch Trunks!"

**Yes, Trunks makes an appearance. He's only three so don't expect too much from him. Goten is around somewhere too. Probably lost down a laundry chute. Well, I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter. Chances are I won't be making an update tomorrow. Hopefully, the fact I've updated three days in a row will make up for this. But enough reviews might be able to drag me back to the computer for an update on Friday. Come on guys, what do you say? R&R?**


	9. Heavy Rice

**Well guys I'm back from my one day break. But before I go any further, I'd like to say some thankyou's to some people who deserve it. So let's start with blackmailer26, who in all their godly graciousness offered to clean up chapter 8 of all its typo's and whatever else. He also managed to figure out I'm British because of how I spelled millimetre. I thought it was because of my refusal to use the word pants. Next on my list is Ultimate Black Ace for being awesome, and having a genuine opinion on the fic, and debating the toss over the growth rate of several characters, allowing me to conclude that power levels, are in fact, bullshit. Ultranx and Sharkdude 5, I've mentioned you guys before. Both of you have reviewed almost every single chapter, from the beginning. You two are awesome and also both of you seem to review around the same time. Go figure. Lastly I'd like to thank Gohan fan fics, one for your continuous reviews over the last five chapters, and secondly for saying my fic should be on Tv. That made me smile.**

**Well the author notes don't end there. I'd like to address a few concerns. As A-man has pointed out, it takes years of practice for Piccolo and Goku to get a power level of around 500. Sadly Gohan then went and made that a moot point by managed three times that power level in a year. Sadly Videl is not going to be chucked at any mountains with the hope they blow up before she hits them. As such she will be progressing with a more realistic pace. There was also some worry from some people that since Trunks is a half Saiyan three year old, this automatically makes him far beyond Videl's current ability's and therefor she should not be able to ever catch him. Yes, he is currently beyond Videl, but not because he's a Saiyan. It's because Vegeta's idea of father son bonding was to make Trunks crawl around the gravity room until he can stand up. He's had no actual training, since he's three and Bulma won't allow it. That being said, getting used to the gravity room from a super early age is obviously going to leave Trunks a lot stronger and faster than your average three year old. So whether Videl actually ever manages to catch him or not is still something I'm not entirely decided on. Well that's it for now, hope I've made a few thing clear and, oh yeah, I don't own Dragon Ball Z.**

"THAT IS NOT A TODDLER!" Videl bellowed.

This was the seventh time she had to pick her face up off the floor. And it was getting harder each time. Not to mention it hurt twice as much to fall over than it normally does. At first she'd thought Gohan had been joking with her. When it became apparent he wasn't, she quickly went to grab Trunks, only to fall at his feet as soon as she picked up a bit of momentum. Then, after getting up she decided to simply try walking up to him and grabbing him. The second she bent over to grab him, trunks took a step back and she fell flat on her face again. Eventually she began chasing him around the room very slowly, trying to back him into a corner. But when she did, and she went to grab him, the kid jumped SIX FEET INTO THE AIR, kicking her in the back of the head and landing on his feet some distance behind her. The tiny push added to the small amount of momentum she'd already built up, and Videl found she couldn't stop herself smashing her face into the wall. The boy laughed at her. No one laughs at her. Sadly after four more attempts at catching the kid, it didn't seem there was much she could do about it. Gohan watched all of this with a rather amused smirk.

Eventually Videl managed to figure out that not only was Trunks a lot faster than he looked, he was a lot smarter too. He seemed to come up with some pretty inventive ways of making her fall over. Such as running right up to her and sliding under her legs. This meant that when she bent down to grab him she ended up falling forwards again because she moved too quickly.

"Oh, I get it," Videl muttered from her place on the floor, glaring at Trunks as he continued laughing at her.

"This Kid's been genetically engineered. Capsule Corp. is involved in illegal human biological experiments. Well I'm afraid I'm going to have to place you all under arrest."

After all there's no way a toddler this strong and fast and intelligent could exist, even if he is the son of the great Bulma briefs and her spikey haired, muscle bound midget husband.

Gohan giggled from the spot he was standing.

"Trust me, there's nothing of the sort going on here. And Trunks hasn't received any special training either. He's a completely ordinary super toddler created through perfectly natural means.

Trunks smiled at her.

"You fall down is funny."

…

Well at least he still spoke like a three year old.

Placing her hands on the ground Videl pusher herself up, with a good bit of strain back onto her feet. Wobbling slightly from the effort she took a cautious step forward towards the toddler and then another. Said Toddler didn't move from the spot he was standing and was just smiling at her instead. Once she reached him she slowly bent down to grab him once she was in front of him. But quick as a flash the little kid had jumped over her head. Videl leaned back again, trying to put her arms in the air to try and catch him. This turned out to be pretty difficult with her wrist bands on her, but once she had gotten them in the air she had difficulty keeping them up. As per usual she fell backwards after her attempt at catching the kid and fell painfully on her back.

"This is impossible," she said between a few pants. She let her arms fall down beside her and decided to simply lie down there for a minute and catch her breath.

"Videl, you've only been training ten minutes," said Gohan, cocking his head at her. Videl's only response was to stick her tongue out at him.

"How long is till I'm able to hop around in here like he is?" she asked, nodding her head towards Trunks, who was doing some kind of acrobatic routine while he waited for her.

Gohan shrugged.

"I honestly wouldn't know," said Gohan. "But as soon as you're able to, we'll be putting the gravity on a higher setting so it doesn't really matter anyway."

Videl let her jaw hang open. _Higher setting? _She couldn't handle the current setting, what made him think she'd let him enter a higher one.

As if sensing her thoughts, Gohan gave her a chuckle and headed over to the controls.

"My dad was the first person to use this kind of training method," he told her, sitting down in a conveniently placed seat. "When he first started out, he was training at ten times earth's normal gravity."

Videl only looked at Gohan like he was stupid. How could someone even survive that?

"But as he got stronger and stronger, he put the settings higher and higher. Vegeta couldn't believe how strong my dad got, so he decided to try the same thing. Obviously this room gets good results."

Videl nodded her head. The guy had thrown another guy fifty feet in the air. If he was constantly training at over ten times earth's gravity it suddenly made sense how he could do that. Everything must feel as light as a feather to him.

"It's your choice how much stronger you get Videl," Gohan continued, spinning in his chair as he did. He stopped the spinning to face her. "But if you don't work really hard then you're not going to get anywhere. Since no matter what anyone else says, hard work is the true essence of martial arts."

He smiled a sweet smile at her as he said this. Videl felt herself blush as he gazed down at her and avoided his eyes. This caused Gohan to frown but he didn't say anything. Hard work is the true essence of martial arts. She'd heard that before. Didn't Master Roshi say something similar? But she did work hard, she'd worked as hard as she could ever since she was a little girl just so she could catch up to her father.

"Hey Gohan," she said, looking back at him. "How did you get so strong, if you've never been in here before?"

Several memories popped into Gohan's head. Fighting off dinosaurs with a tiny sword. Being flung at mountains by Piccolo. His training in the hyperbolic time chamber.

"You met mister Piccolo right. He's very much a do or die kind of teacher, in the most literal sense. I had to become strong, or I wouldn't survive."

He'd had to be strong. It was a necessity, to protect his friends and to live through everything he'd been forced to experience ever since he was a child. If he wasn't strong, he would have already died many times over.

Videl didn't really get it, but she was ready now. She picked herself up off the floor, and stood on shaking feet.

"Let's catch myself a toddler then," she said, trying to steady herself by placing her hands on her knee's. 'I'm going to have to surprise him,' she thought, eying the seemingly hyper active toddler who was still doing backflips on the spot. 'What's the thing he'd least expect me to do? I Know!'

She jumped at him. Waited till just before he landed then jumped at him. She'd jumped high, knowing that she'd have to since gravity brought her down quicker now. In her own opinion the timing was perfect. She would get him when he was still in mid-air.

Gohan shook his head in mock disappointment. The second she got close to Trunks, he reached out and slapped her hand away, landing on his feet and jumping away as Videl fell flat on her face again.

"h..t. ths k..d," came Videl's muffled voice from the floor.

Gohan kept her at it for two hours. By the end of it Videl was really contemplating that Gohan might actually hate her. She never managed to catch Trunks, and she never managed to get used to the gravity either. Gohan led her to the shower room though, and left some spare clothes outside for her to change into. Once she was done and changed he led her into the kitchen where she was slightly surprised to find Chi-Chi making them both dinner. She saw another child in the room too other than trunks. This kid looked a little younger than Trunks, dressed in an orange shirt and blue shorts. He was sitting in a high chair clacking a knife and fork together. Trunks was sitting next to him, and was trying to explain the training he did with Videl.

"Then she jump forward but I jump off her."

"Jump, jump! Ha ha ha."

The younger kid started clapping his hands together.

"That's my younger brother Goten," Gohan said, nodding to the clapping child. "Mom, you remember Videl right."

"Of course I do sweetie."

Chi-Chi turned around from her cooking only long enough to give them both a warm smile before turning back to whatever she was doing. Gohan took this as a signal to sit down, with Videl deciding to follow suit.

"Doesn't capsule corp. have a chef or something for cooking?" asked Videl, since she honestly couldn't imagine they didn't.

"They have a machine that can create their meals yes," said Chi-Chi as she skinned… something blue. "But I've always enjoyed cooking. It keeps me relaxed."

Videl nodded her head, sort of understanding.

Chi-Chi looked at the two out of the corner of her eye.

"To think Gohan already has a girlfriend," she said dreamily, loud enough for both Gohan and Videl to hear, and yelp in response. "Kids grow up so fast."

"Mom, Videl's not my girlfriend," Said Gohan, a blush evident on his face.

Videl nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, we're only thirteen. There's no reason at all for us to be a couple."

"That sounds more like you're trying to convince yourself than me," said Chi-Chi cheerfully, as she began setting large plates of food on the table. Videl's eyes widened at the sight of meal in front of her. She still wasn't entirely used to Gohan's appetite.

"I'm just saying that we're too young," said Videl, finding herself unable to tear her eyes away from the food. She'd been so distracted by it she'd completely missed Chi-Chi's implied meaning. 'Surely even Gohan couldn't eat everything that had been put on the table,' she thought. 'There was enough food here for an army. The pile sandwiches alone are a good three feet high.'

"Nonsense. Why I was a good year younger than you two when I got engaged to Goku. I was a bit annoyed later when I found out he thought that engagement was something edible but that doesn't really change anything."

Chi-chi continued to pile more food onto capsule Corps. Large dinner table, and Videl noticed she seemed to have even more still in the oven. Chi-Chi however finally set down opposite Gohan.

"Okay, time to eat," she said cheerily. Gohan didn't need to be told twice. Apparently neither did Trunks and Goten. Videl thought that two year olds had to have special mashed up food, or at least food cut up into small bits. She apparently thought wrong however as she watched young Goten stretch his mouth wide enough to swallow whole sandwiches one after another. Trunks seemed to be doing something similar. Only he was grabbing things from further down the table. Finally there was Gohan. His table manners were slightly better than the two toddlers, but this didn't stop his from eating faster than the two toddlers combined. He was eating a whole lot more than the two of them as well. She watched him devour a bowel of chicken curry with rice in seconds before moving onto a full bowl of lasagne. For some reason there seemed to be some of pretty much everything on the table.

"Are you not eating Videl?" asked Chi-Chi from across the table. At least she seemed to be eating a normal amount of food.

"Yes, I am it's just… how do they eat so much?"

Chi-Chi gave her children a fond smile.

"Genetics," she said. "They get it from their father's."

She took a bit of beef and chewed it slowly before swallowing it and continuing.

"Don't worry, you'll get used to it once you and Gohan are married. You'll have to cook for him after all."

Videl went beet red and Gohan began coughing up rice at his mother's words.

"Mom, thirteen. Not even legal," said Gohan once he'd finished coughing up food.

"Not right now," his mother consented. "But in a few years well, who knows."

The two teens continued to argue that they were not a couple, Gohan even forgetting to devour his food in order to protest. But Chi-Chi seemed quite adamant that there was a blossoming romance between the two, and refused to believe otherwise. Eventually, after realising his food had been eaten by Trunks and Goten, Gohan decided to simply excuse himself from the table, telling Videl to follow him when she'd done. This didn't take long since Videl had been done for a while. She quickly got up, thanked Chi-Chi for the meal, and followed Gohan out of the room.

"Are we not done in the gravity chamber?" she asked with a bit of worry in her voice when she finally caught up to him.

"Oh, we're done in there for the day," said Gohan, leading her down another passage. Now Videl recognized where they were going. He led her to the clearing where they had the party a little while ago. Gohan went and sat down on a flat looking rock near the edge of the clearing, nodding at another rock near him, motioning for Videl to sit down too. After a moment she did so with a confused look.

Videl sat down, crossing both of her legs on the rock and giving him a confused look.

"What are we doing?" asked Videl, honestly lost as to why they were there.

"Meditating," said Gohan with a smile. Videl however frowned back.

"Seriously?"

Gohan nodded. "If I had to say your weakness Videl it's that you don't have much control over your emotions. According to a book I read, that might be because you're going through something called puberty. I don't really know what that is, but Mom says that it's why my voice goes scratchy sometimes and that it will make girls even weirder than normal. Hey, what's wrong Videl?"

She'd gone beet red when Gohan mentioned puberty. She didn't like people talking about that stuff, especially when people related it to her. The only reason she hadn't slapped Gohan was because he said he didn't know what puberty was. That and it wouldn't put up a very good argument for her self-control.

"Just get back to the meditation stuff Gohan," she said, doing her best not to shout.

"Erm, okay," said Gohan, honestly confused as to why her face had gone red. "Well meditation should help you to calm yourself down and get in better touch with your body."

"My body?" Videl said, her voice coming out almost as a screech. "And what exactly do you know about my body?"

"I know that your four feet ten, weigh around seven and a half stone and that it's well built for martial arts," said Gohan, thinking it was an actual question. He was so surprised when Videl suddenly slapped him he found himself unable to dodge.

"Jerk," she hissed at him before getting up and storming out the room, nursing a red hand as she went whilst blinking back tears.

"Hey what was that for?" asked Gohan as he got up to chase her.

"Oh I don't know, maybe it was my out of whack emotions brought on by puberty?" she spat at him.

Gohan grabbed her arm before she left the clearing, and Videl found that she couldn't make it any further forwards as long as he had a grip on her.

"look I don't know what I did to upset you, so whatever it was I'm sorry for it, really I am. So come back and sit down, please."

Gohan looked at her with a pleading look in his eye, and being on the receiving end of that look, Videl felt her anger disappear.

"Just… no more body talk alright. Or bodily functions or anything like that."

Gohan scratched the back of his neck, trying to find out what the problem with that was, but in the end he very rightly concluded that she was a girl, and he therefor would never understand it. So he decided he'd just go along with it.

"Okay," he said.

Once meditation was over, which left Videl feeling a lot calmer than earlier allowing her to actually see the merit in it, Gohan said that there training for today was over.

"Oh and you probably won't want to do any training tomorrow," he said as he led her to the door.

Videl frowned. "Why can't I do any training?" she asked, annoyed that he'd once again banned her from her favourite past time.

"I never said you can't," said Gohan. "I said you won't want to. Well you'll see when you wake-up. We'll be doing something different Tuesday though, and I'm going to try and convince Vegeta to give me more time in the gravity room so we can use it more."

She was outside the door now, with Gohan also walking out a step. She was wearing a grey hoody with matching bottoms that Gohan had given her to wear once she got out the shower.

"Do you want me to walk you home?" asked Gohan once they were both out the door.

She was about to say no, she can walk herself home thank you very much. But once she thought about it, she enjoyed spending time with Gohan, so if she didn't have to say goodbye just yet then.. she wouldn't. With a small blush she nodded her head rather than outright saying yes.

Gohan gave her a smile and quietly closed the door behind him, before following her out of the capsule corp. gardens. Soon they turned onto the snow covered street and began the walk back to Videl's house. It was a true white Christmas, since Videl couldn't remember a single day where the ground wasn't covered in snow. She hadn't thought it was that late, since she'd gone over to capsule corp. in the morning but the sky was already going dark, with the street lights already turned on. It was winter so that meant it was at least four in the afternoon. Just how long had she spent meditating. The experience had been so peaceful that she must have lost track of time.

All too soon, the two teens reached the gate of Videl's house. Neither of them had said a word during the walk over, but then neither of them had found the silence uncomfortable. Videl turned on her feet to face Gohan and gave him a smile, which he returned.

"Thanks for walking me home," she said.

"No problem," said Gohan. "I'll.. see you at school tomorrow."

"Yeah, see you tomorrow," said Videl.

Neither of them went to move. They just stood there and stared at each other.

"Right… I'll just go then," said Gohan, nervously scratching the back of his head. He turned on his feet to walk away.

"Gohan," said Videl suddenly taking a step forward.

"Yeah," Gohan replied, immediately turning back.

"Umm…,"

What was she going to say? She'd just called his name without thinking about it. Now here she was, having no idea what to say at all.

"Umm," she said again. "Take care."

No no no, that wasn't what she wanted to say. But then what did she want to say?

Gohan smiled at her and nodded.

"I will," he said. Once again he turned and walked. Videl found herself wanting to shout his name again and bring him back.

'What the hell's wrong with me,' she thought to herself. She managed to bite her tongue before she called out to him again. Instead she just simply watched him go. Soon he was outside of the light of her street lamp and he seemed to disappear into the darkness out of sight.

Videl stayed standing outside for a while. For some reason she couldn't will her feet to move. But eventually she seemed to accept that there was no point in standing there any longer. With an audible sigh, she slotted a card through a machine on her gate, allowing the gate to open, and allowing her to go inside.

'I'll see him tomorrow,' she told herself. She had no idea why she suddenly wanted tomorrow to come faster. But she didn't bother to question it either. Something was wrong with her, something inside her had broken. Or had it simply opened up.

"Maybe it's just puberty," Videl said to herself.

**I'm supposed to be making the relationship between Videl and Gohan progress slower. But I don't want to DX. Well I'll just have Videl fight her feelings for a while, and make good use of Gohan's complete obliviousness to his own feelings. That should cut it. Not too much happened in this chapter, just Videl's first training session, which took longer to write up than I expected. Then I took so much time writing up lunch. Before I knew it I'd already wrote up near 4000 words near for the chapter. Although the huge bunch of notes at the start might have something to do with it. Tomorrow my cousin and her Mom (aka auntie) are coming round. Worse there's a good chance they're going to steal my bed, leaving me to sleep downstairs. But this also means if I update tomorrow it will probably be early. I'm not saying I won't update at all because, I've got nothing to do today. Well on another note I'd like you all to help me achieve a personal dream. See I've always wanted to write a fic that reaches a hundred reviews, because 100 is such a pretty number. I'm already on 83. So that means that if you guys can help me reach my dream, then I'll be very happy and do nice stuff for people all day. So what do you guys say? Review? Pretty please! **


	10. Fast Rice

**WE DID IT! Over a hundred reviews! Everyone who's ever reviewed this fic ever, no matter how long ago, give yourself a pat on the back. Woohoo. **

**Now, to address some stuff. A-man, I know that a Saiyan baby is naturally going to be more powerful than a human one. But I also think that a highly trained human fighter should be able to defeat a completely untrained Saiyan toddler. Also according to .315 Videl was as strong as android 18 when she entered the tournament. Somehow I'm having difficulty believing that one, sorry Austin. But as A-man also said I am trying to approach this logically. And to answer Anin's question, this fic will not be going down a mature route when the characters grow up. I've never wrote that stuff before, and although I wouldn't say that I'll never try, I'm certainly not going to have a crack at it half way through this. Even if Videl and Gohan were older I don't think it would fit in well with the rest of it. I also agree with Red that I might be moving things along too quickly. But tahts mainly because I've got some exciting stuff planned, and I want to get to it quickly, so I might be getting a little over excited. You'll all have to forgive me. Urm, did I get everything. I think I did. Well, disclaimer. I do not own Dbz. Go figure. Also I cleaned up this chapter, yaaay.  
**

Videl woke up bright and early Monday morning. She yawned, she stretched and then she tried to get up out of bed. Bad idea.

"Owwwwwwwwww," Videl moaned as she attempted to stumble onto her feet. Her legs were killing her. And her shoulders were killing her. And her everything was killing her!

"So that's what Gohan meant," she muttered to herself. She quickly began her morning ritual. She showered, brushed her teeth and then put on a lot of deodorant. After all today was Monday meaning she had gym. And she sweated a lot in gym. And sweaty people tended to smell and that didn't tend to be attractive. Videl frowned to herself. Since when did _she _care about what was attractive? Regardless she put the deodorant can in her bag just in case. As she was getting dressed for school she gave the pile of weighted clothes a look.

"Screw them," she said out loud to no one in particular. Her limbs all felt like they were going to fall off and every single movement was painful. So fuck no was she wearing those things today. Instead she got dressed in her simple getup of a baggy white shirt and long jeans. In the spring and summer she wore spandex shorts. But for winter, it was jeans or anything she could fins that was warmer. She found some thick socks to wear and got her white jacket along with scarf, gloves and hat. Then grabbing her bag she ran down stairs to have breakfast. A few years ago her father would have joined her for breakfast. Nowadays she'd be lucky to even see him before school. So Cari served her a nice breakfast of sausages, bacon and egg, with beans and a hatch brown with brown toast and a glass of orange juice. She was informed this was a full English breakfast. The reason Cari served her this was unclear, but it might be because Cari himself was foreign and most likely unfamiliar with foreign breakfast choices. Then again that's not likely since he was a top class butler so he had to have knowledge of every countries signature dishes.

Videl herself didn't care, simply downing the large breakfast quickly before dashing off to school. She quickly remembered why this was a bad idea.

"Owwwwwwwww!"

* * *

"So Gohan would you like to go to the movies with us today?" said Erasa. She had come to school early, and to her delight so had Gohan. So when Videl opened her classroom door it was to the sight of her best friend practically draping herself over her sworn rival/ teacher/ friend and batting her eyelashes at him. For some reason she couldn't comprehend the sight annoyed her.

"Don't you think Gohan will be a bit uncomfortable if you smoother him like that?" she asked as she approached Gohan's desk.

Erasa gave a giggle.

"Of course not silly. You don't mind do you Gohan?"

"Umm, well actually…"

"See Videl, he's not uncomfortable at all."

Videl just shook her head at her smiling friend.

"Anyway I was just inviting Gohan here to go bowling after school today. We still haven't been able to get him to come out after school even once."

"And you didn't think to invite or tell me?" asked Videl raising an eyebrow.

"I'm inviting you now silly. You'll both come right? Everyone else is going. Even Jazz, Richards and Ruby said they'd tag along."

"Well I've never gone before so I'd like to give it a try," said Gohan, flashing Erasa his signature smile. "But could you let go off my arm please."

Erasa actually paid attention this time, releasing his arm and getting up onto her feet.

"Okay Sweety. Videl are you coming?"

"Yeah, sure," said Videl as she took her seat behind Gohan. After all there's no way she could manage training today but if it was just bowling then she should somehow be able to manage.

"Great, I'll see you two after school," said Erasa as she skipped over to the door. With a last wave she exited the classroom.

As soon as she was gone Gohan turned to face Videl.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, the smile never leaving his face.

"Like I've just been hit by a truck, and then ran over by a steam roller. Then someone found what was left of me, tied each limb to a different car then told the drivers of those cars to drive in opposite directions. "

Videl rested her jaw on the table as Gohan chuckled.

"Is this how I'm going to feel every Monday?" she asked, sounding a bit dejected at the thought.

"Every Monday Thursday actually. I spoke to Vegeta and he agreed to let me have the gravity room on Wednesdays too. Under certain… conditions."

Gohan did not feel like telling her what those conditions entailed exactly.

"But don't worry too much. After tomorrow's training session you'll be begging to get back to the gravity room."

Suddenly Videl was not looking forward to tomorrow.

"I asked for this didn't I?" she asked with a sigh.

"Yup," said Gohan.

"What about you, have you always undergone training this harsh?" she asked Gohan, feeling somewhat sorry for him if he had. But to her surprise Gohan gave a laugh.

"This harsh? Believe me Videl your training right now is comparatively light to what you'll be doing in a few months."

The manner he said it in was humorous as if it was a joke. Yet somehow Videl didn't think he was joking.

"Besides," he said, never losing his smile. But his eyes didn't seem to radiate the normal innocence and cheer they usually did. "Compared to my training, yours is…"

He didn't finish the sentence but looking at the distant haunted look in his eyes, Videl could tell that whatever he had gone through, what she was doing now didn't even compared. The thought scared her somehow. She had a feeling that this training was going to damn near kill her. So what the hell had Gohan been doing?

"Well how about bowling?" asked Videl, deciding to change the subject. Instantly the haunted look in his eyes disappeared and he returned to his usual cheerful self.

"I've never been before, so I'm really excited to go."

The rest of the day seemed to pass quickly, especially for Videl who decided to sleep through every period except gym. But when she got to gym, she was pleasantly surprised with herself.

"We'll be running track, one hundred metres," barked the coach. So that's what the kids did, all tacking turns to run. Eventually of course it was Videl's turn.

"Satan, Videl!" the coach narked, so Videl took her place. Right now her best was running the hundred meters in nine point four seconds. As soon as the coach's whistle went she bolted. Her limbs groaned in protest but she didn't let that stop her. With no weighted clothes on she felt as light as a feather. She didn't even realise when she crossed the finish line.

"My God Miss Satan, eight point seven! What have you been eating?"

Videl let her mouth hang open. Was this the result of wearing those clothes all the time? Her time had increased by over half a second, after only a few weeks of training. She turned to grin at Gohan.

"Beat that," she said happily. Of course she knew he would. After all if he couldn't then there was no point in training under him.

Gohan knew that Videl expected him to surpass her, and the rest of the school already knew he was stronger than her.

"I'll make it close," he said to her as he passed. He would win, but he definitely wasn't going to go all out. He would meet Videl's expectations, but at the same time he didn't want to show off. So he'd win but not by much.

"Son, Gohan," the coach called. He took his position. The coach blew his whistle. Gohan exploded off the starting line. He was aiming for about eight five. But it was pretty hard to tell how fast he was going. He was trying to count in his head, to reach the finish line just after eight. When he hit the line he instantly turned to the coach to see how he did.

The coach was looking at him funny.

"Seven nine Mr Son. You continue to amaze."

Damnit, he must have been counting too fast. To the coaches' amazement Gohan looked rather down about his time.

"Nothing to be sad about son, I've never seen a time like this. I'm going to have to check the world record."

'Oh please no,' thought Gohan. 'There's no way I broke the record. Please don't say I did.'

Videl was also surprised. Her father couldn't manage seven nine! He'd amazed the world when he'd out ran athletes and got a staggering time of eight point two.

'Gohan's really amazing,' she thought. She remembered when she first met him and chased him in that game, she hadn't been able to catch up at all. If he was capable of that kind of time then no wonder. But just like the coach she noticed he was frowning over his time.

"What's wrong with you?" asked Videl, once Gohan had walked back over, ignoring the cheering teens that surrounded them.

"Nothing," he muttered. "Do you know the world record for the hundred metres?" he asked suddenly.

'Was he aiming for the world record', thought Videl. But she did know the record. She knew lots of records and she was aiming to break all of them by the time she was twenty.

"Yeah, about forty years ago there was an old man who apparently ran the hundred metres in five point eight seconds. But a lot of people think that a time like that is impossible so the old man must have been cheating."

Hundreds of miles away, Master Roshi sneezed.

"So the official world record is seven point six seconds, which was ran by a man called God speed Hanzo about twenty five years ago. Apparently running was the only thing he could do though."

Gohan gave a sigh of relief, which rather confused Videl who thought he would be upset he didn't quite manage to break the record.

"Didn't you want to break the record?" asked Videl, putting her hands on her hips and giving him a confused look.

"Nah, too much publicity. Rather I was a bit scared that I might have accidently broken it." Gohan gave a chuckle. But Videl being rather quick witted for a thirteen year old girl managed to pick up on the hidden meaning in Gohan's words.

"Accidently broke it? Does that mean you were holding back?" she asked, a little too loudly for Gohan's likeness.

"Quiet down," he said putting a finger in front of his lips to try and get his point across.

Videl kept her hands on her hips and glared at him.

"Well?" she asked.

'Busted' thought Gohan, before thinking of the best way to explain himself. Eventually he came up with something good.

"Don't be so surprised," he said. The best way to get out of this was to appeal how unremarkable it was, even though to the average person it was an incredible time. "Give it another two or three months and you'll easily be making times like this."

Videl's eyes widened at his words.

"Really?" she asked with excitement evident in her voice. Gohan nodded his head.

"Yeah, really. In fact after a year or two that old man's time will stop seeming so impossible."

Videl's stare turned from hopeful to suspicious.

"But even my Dad can only manage about eight seconds, if he really really pushes himself. Does that mean my Dad's slow?"

Oh great, now he had to find a way to explain how her weakling father isn't a weakling. Luckily he had just the explanation.

"It's all about muscle mass," he told her, easily catching her attention again. "Once you get too powerful and you muscles get too big, they begin to slow you down. That's why martial artists don't usual hold sprinting records."

Or at least he guessed that's why.

"And your Dad's a fighter, not a sprinter."

Videl nodded her head in understanding before giving Gohan a smile.

"Yeah, you're right," said Videl, happy with Gohan's explanation as it explained her father's shortcoming. Or at least the one she noticed anyway.

Satisfied that he'd apparently managed to explain everything Gohan was able to continue the lesson in peace.

After school Gohan met up with Videl and all her friends. Erasa and Sharpner were there, along with Angie and someone he hadn't seen before named Stephen. The older kids, who apparently went to Videl's Dojo were there too, along with Jazz's friend Richard, who Gohan noticed was reading a book on martial arts. Once everyone had gathered the group quickly began moving. However halfway down the street Gohan had to stop everyone so he could use a payphone to call capsule Corp. and tell his mom where he was going. Once he was done he quickly returned to the group.

"Did you forget your mobile?" asked Erasa when he returned. "Ooh you should totally give us all your number!"

But Gohan shook his head.

"I don't have a mobile," said Gohan. "I've never needed one."

"Really?" said Erasa with some disappointment in her voice. "Well why don't you ask your parents if they'll buy you one. It is Christmas soon after all."

Gohan shrugged. He highly doubted he'd be able to get a mobile for Christmas, since normally he just got more books. But it couldn't hurt to ask he supposed.

"I'll do that," he said to Erasa, fixing her with his smile. Faced with Gohan's smiling face Erasa found herself blushing slightly.

"Alright, come on you two, let's go."

Videl was suddenly next to them, and on her command the whole group started marching.

It wasn't a long walk to the bowling all, and the friends were soon seated and changing their shoes.

"How about boys against girls?" asked Ruby, with what had to be her first sentence of the evening.

"But there's five boys and three girls," pointed out Videl.

"Ooh, ooh. Then we get Gohan," said Erasa while jumping up and down.

"Take him," said Sharpner without a second thought. Ever since that day in the hospital he hadn't said a word to Gohan. "Kid's never played anyway. Doubt he'll make much of a difference."

Videl alone knew how untrue that was. Even if he's never played before, Gohan was a god at games.

But even if he gave the girls an advantage, she wasn't very happy. She'd wanted to beat Gohan at bowling, but there would always be another chance.

So the teams were established and the teams were soon bowling. Erasa squealed as her first attempt resulted in a strike. Sharpner knocked over nine pins, but every other boy managed to get a strike or a half strike. Gohan was soon lining up his first shot. He'd seen the others do it. Luckily this game seemed to focus more on control than strength. So he lined up his throw and released. He missed the centre pin by an inch, knocking down six pins. On his next throw the last four were knocked down. Videl also kept pace with a strike on her next turn, but Erasa shots both ended up in the lane. Ruby made up for it with a half strike, with all of the boys so far except Richards getting nine or eight pins. Gohan got another half strike.

The game continued and the scores remained rather close. Richards turned out to be the best on the guys team, with constant strikes and half strikes. However, Gohan went beyond everyone's expectations. Once he got onto his fourth shot he was scoring one strike after another. By the end of the night Gohan was feeling rather pleased with himself. Between him and Videl they had led the girls team to victory. However Gohan's score wasn't the highest of them all. He was surprised but not unhappy that to find out that Richards had beaten him by a single strike. It would seem that his inexperience had cost him first place. But Gohan didn't really mind that, and congratulated Richards all the same. Richards didn't seem that interested in his victory, saying it was a team game, and his team had lost. So a few awkward conversations later the group of teens found themselves exiting the bowling alley and walking home, with several of them breaking off into groups to head home. Eventually it was just Videl and Gohan.

The two seemed to walk in silence for a while before Videl noticed something.

"Erm, Gohan. Isn't Capsule Corp. that way?" she said, pointing down a road they'd just passed.

"Yeah, but my mom says I should always escort a Lady home, if she has no one else to accompany her. No matter how powerful or strong they are."

"Right," said Videl with a shrug. She didn't really mind Gohan walking her home. Normally she would, but she supposed that since he said 'no matter how strong' it was more of a matter of curtsey for him than an act of protection.

So the two continued walking.

"Are we training after school tomorrow?" Videl asked, not liking the silence.

Gohan nodded his head.

"Yeah. And wear your weighted clothes too."

"Okay," said Videl without much thought.

"Hmm, well your house is right there, so I'm going to turn round now. You'd better be prepared for tomorrow though. I'm not going to make it easy for you.

Videl smiled and nodded her head.

"Looking forward to it."

Gohan smiled back.

"Tomorrow you'll be eating those words."

**Well, I'm actually getting annoyed with myself. Why do all the chapters end outside Videl' house. It just always seems like an appropriate time to end the chapter. Well not much happened this chapter anyways, just some subtle foreshadowing, but next chapter's going to be a whole different ball game. Believe me when I say Gohan is not going to take it easy on Videl's training. He may be nice and all, but even he recognizes that people won't improve if you baby them. So look forward to the next chapter everyone. **


	11. Guilty Rice

**A short chapter today. The reason for it is at the bottom. This chapter was difficult to write because I had to get Gohan's mind-set right. Getting such a non-violent person to do something aggressive and keep him in character is difficult. I don't know if I managed it so I'll leave that up to you guys to decide. Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. And I don't own dragonball z. There, read the chapter now.**

"Umm, Gohan, what are we doing?"

They were back in the clearing. As soon as school had ended, and they'd said goodbye to their friends minus Sharpner, he'd brought her straight there. Apparently Vegeta was currently in the gravity room and wouldn't be coming out anytime soon.

There was no equipment in the clearing. And Trunks wasn't there either. It was just her and Gohan. Gohan of course was all smiles, just like usual. But for some reason, he was unnerving her. There was no visible difference between Gohan now and how he usually is, but his aura was darker, not evil in any way but thick with determination. The usual peaceful feeling was gone too. It was amazing how his innocent smile suddenly seemed so sinister. He had hinted that whatever she was going to be doing today would be a lot tougher than he training in the gravity room. And possibly painful too.

"Well, basically today you're going to be dodging," said Gohan his smiling face not changing a bit.

"Dodging?" asked Videl. Dodging what?

"Exactly," answered Gohan. "Now dodge."

Before Videl had seen him move he'd closed the distance between them and his fist was less than half a centimetre from her face. She couldn't even move. She hadn't even registered that he'd moved yet.

"That's the only freebie you're getting," said Gohan, his smile gone to be replaced with a grimace of determination. This was training, and to him training had always been something painful. Especially under the tutelage of Mr Piccolo. The thought that he was most likely going to hurt Videl made him sad, but at the same time he couldn't baby her.

"Next time I'll really hit you," he told her.

Videl gulped. The idea of being punched by Gohan scared her. But all the same she nodded. She got punched plenty when she sparred with the adults. And besides so long as she dodged she'd be alright.

"Good," said Gohan, a shadow of his old smile working its way back onto his face. "Then get ready."

He took a few steps back and Videl put herself into a stance. She focused on him, ready to move the second he did.

She didn't realize that would be a second too late.

The second Gohan moved, his fist had already embedded itself into her stomach. She'd been given no time to react, and instead she found herself being flung backwards a good ten feet by Gohan's powerful blow. She landed painfully on her back. Her stomach felt like a bull had just charged into it. Luckily for her Gohan hadn't put too much power into the blow, just enough to wind her a little. She blinked back a few tears that were threatening to escape and worked her way back to her feet.

"You okay," Gohan called over. His face held a worried frown as he regarded her. Videl would have liked to say no, that really fucking hurt. But that would make her appear weak in front of Gohan. So she decided to go with yes. Or she would have if she could get her voice out. So insetad she simply nodded her head.

Gohan nodded back, and motioned for her to ready her stance.

"Dodge," he said simply, and that's exactly what Videl tried to do. Only she did it too late. She could just about see Gohan move. But even if her eyes could keep up her body couldn't and before she knew it she suffered another painful blow. This time she was sent hurtling into a tree.

'Well at least he had the decency to hit me someplace different,' she thought to herself. Rather than punch her in the stomach, he'd used a palm thrust aimed at her heart. If it was anyone else at any other time, training or no, she'd have immediately claimed he'd touched her breast, than used that as an excuse to beat the shit out of whoever did it. But right now that was the last thing on her mind

'A few more blows like that and I'll be knocked out cold.'

'Maybe this was a bad idea,' Thought Gohan. He watched Videl as she struggled to get back to her feet. He'd asked Mr Piccolo for advice on tough training for Videl which wouldn't kill her. This is what Piccolo suggested.

'Okay, maybe Mr Piccolo wasn't the right person to ask.'

"You okay Videl?"

Videl didn't even nod this time, just held a shaking arm up and put her thumb up. Then she staggered back over to him.

'Maybe I shouldn't punch her so hard,' thought Gohan. But then Piccolo had been very clear. Move just fast enough for her to see you but be unable to react to you. Hit her hard enough to wind her, but be careful not to knock her unconscious. She needs a good incentive to dodge, and she can't feel like you're letting her off easy. These were Piccolo's words, and as much as it pained him to do it, Gohan was sticking to them.

Once she'd been knocked down for the third time Videl decided it was time to change tactics. Dodging Gohan when he attacks was pointless, he'd hit her before she'd even moved. He was moving only slightly slower than a bullet. This of course was the answer. How do you dodge a bullet, move before they shoot? Unless whoevers shooting is a really crap shot, in which case you might have just accidently moved in front of the bullet you were trying to dodge. So Videl readied herself, engaging her stance, albeit shaking slightly, and looking Gohan straight in the eyes. Every time he beat her down, she looked into his eyes and saw hesitation. Hesitation to beat her down again. But every time that hesitation would gradually disappear to be replaced by a steely determination. Videl wasn't sure how she felt about that.

"Dodge," said Gohan. Videl decided to take that as her signal. The second he said it, before he could follow up with an attack she flung herself to the side.

She should have known it wouldn't work.

Instead she felt herself stop in mid-air. Then she was yanked backwards by her ankle until Gohan was holding her upside down by her ankle.

"Almost got it," said Gohan with a smile. "But jumping randomly isn't going to help you."

The he let go of her ankle and allowed her to crumple to the floor with a small grown. It took her a good half a minute before she was back on her feet again.

Fifteen attempts later and Videl was not getting back up. She was lying on her back panting desperately, with her eyes clutched together tightly in pain. Gohan stood over her with a worried frown on his face.

"You almost did it that time," he told her, though he wasn't sure if she was listening. He out his hand in his pocket and pulled out a small bag. Taking a small green bean from the bag, he dropped it into Videl's mouth. She began to cough and splutter at the feeling of the unwelcomed visitor until Gohan softly commanded "swallow it."

She did as she was told, calming down enough to swallow the green bean. Instantly she felt better. All the pain was gone. All the tiredness was gone, along with all the hunger and even all the curses that had been floating across her mind. She could think of only one possible explanation for this.

"Did you just drug me," she asked, opening her eyes to stare at the frowning Gohan. Her words seemed to shock him enough for him to fall flat on his backside.

"No, I would never do that. That was a senzu bean. They pretty much heal you on the spot. They're really handy," he told her.

Videl just shrugged. She'd take his word for it.

"Well then let's get right back to it," said Gohan, putting some fake cheer into his voice.

"What, again? I just healed," groaned Videl.

"Yeah, so you should be alright for a few more rounds."

Videl groaned and hauled herself back to her feet. She dusted off her gi before staring Gohan in the eyes.

"Do you hate me or something?" she asked as she engaged her stance, deciding that this training session could be used as evidence that he did. Even so she decided to make herself sound sarcastic as she said it. It was something she always worried about, even though she kept telling herself she was being silly. But if she could ask the question in a non-serious way, but get Gohan to give a serious answer, then maybe all her fears could be put to rest.

What she didn't expect was for Gohan's eyes to go wide and give her a look like a kicked puppy. Gohan had definitely taken the question seriously; he'd even dropped his battle stance. Videl half thought about trying to hit him while he was distracted but eventually decided against it.

"Of course I don't," he said with what was possibly the saddest look on his face. "What made you think that? I know this training session is tough, but when I asked Mr Piccolo for ideas on increasing your perception and reactions this is the only thing he came up with that wasn't life threatening."

He carried on looking at her as if she'd just kicked him hard for no reason. She'd received a similar look from someone before. It had made her laugh. For some reason though she didn't feel like laughing this time, she just felt guilty.

"Don't worry about it Gohan, I was just joking," she said, trying to keep her voice calm and attempting to cover her tracks. She was starting to think this training session might be just as much emotional abuse for Gohan as it was physical abuse for her.

"Come on, I'm ready for another go now."

Stupid, stupid question. Why the hell did she have to ask that? Really, she should have realised that Gohan would take it badly. Besides there's no way Gohan hated her. In fact she highly doubted he hated anyone.

"Okay Videl," said Gohan, having gotten over his small panic attack. "Let's get to it."

He got back into his stance. Videl got back into hers. They stared into each other's eyes and then, he struck. Just before she'd been knocked out Videl had kind of figured it out. As Gohan said this was perception and reaction training, and she'd need both of those things to successfully dodge Gohan. She saw in his eyes the intent to strike, she saw his heel rise less than an inch of the ground, and she saw his fist rise. She went low to the left hoping to finally dodge in time. She didn't.

Gohan's fist caught her right shoulder, sending her spinning to the ground. She'd already realised that she wasn't going to dodge in time though, so she'd tried to fall backwards and roll with the blow to try and neutralize it. Didn't really work though, hard to roll with a blow you can barely see.

It took another four tries for Videl to kind of successfully dodge Gohan's blow. But he was very pleased when she did.

"You're definitely getting better at this," he told her, having only managed to skim her arm that time.

"Does that mean I pass?" asked Videl, rubbing the spot he'd supposedly 'skimmed'.

"Yup," said Gohan, earning a whoop of delight from Videl.

"Now I'll try going even faster. Get ready."

"…"

* * *

Before she left Capsule Corp. that day Videl was given a second Senzu bean.

"We can't send you back to your father all beaten up," Gohan joked. He'd gone to fetch the senzu beans from Korin last night, kind of an afterthought, but one he was glad he'd had.

Videl happily swallowed the bean and felt all the pain in her body go away.

"Why the hell don't hospitals have these?" she asked, gesturing to the magical bag of beans.

"There's a very limited supply," said Gohan, scratching the back of his neck and giving a nervous chuckle.

"Right," said Videl, eyeing him suspiciously but not saying anything else on the matter.

"Are you walking me home today as well," she asked, trying to keep anything that might resemble hope out of her voice. She was half expecting herself to hold a grudge over the fact he'd just mercilessly beat the shit out of her, but actually found that she wasn't that angry about it.

"Do you want me too?" asked Gohan, letting his hand fall back to his side.

"Well your mother did tell you to never let a lady walk home by herself," she said, although she felt her cheeks flush a bit.

Gohan gave a chuckle.

"Alright then."

"Sorry," said Gohan, almost as soon as they were out the door.

"What for?" asked Videl, who didn't even turn back to look at him.

"For hurting you," he said, as though it was obvious.

Videl gave a sigh before stopping and spinning on her heels to face him. Gohan also came to a stop.

"You know sometimes you are far too gentle," she said. She'd meant for herself to sound harsh, but it had come out in a rather friendly tone, which made her inwardly scowl a bit.

"Besides no pain no gain right," she said smiling at him. She couldn't help but see the irony, as it was her that got beat up and it was him who needed comforting.

"Yeah," muttered Gohan, still not regaining that smiling face. This caused Videl to sigh again.

"Well how about this. If you're truly sorry then you can make it up to me by waiting on me all off Thursday," she said mischievously.

"Eh," said Gohan completely caught off guard.

"Well we're back in the gravity room tomorrow right. This means that my muscles are going to be aching like crazy again. So I think you should be my servant for the whole day. If you're really sorry that is."

Videl was trying to keep the grin on her face, and the blush off of it. Regardless she looked Gohan dead in the eyes. He couldn't really refuse her now; otherwise she could accuse him of not being sorry at all. Gohan seemed to realise this to, since his shoulders suddenly sagged.

"Fine," he said, not a hint of happiness in his voice. He looked a bit dejected. The look on his face made Videl giggle.

"Awesome."

Wednesdays started off good for Videl. Her muscles weren't killing her and her Dad was even sitting at the table at breakfast. It was the first time in a month that she enjoyed breakfast with her father. He waved her off to school, and when she got there she learned that Sharpner was absent. Deciding that she didn't feel the least bit unhappy that he wasn't there she cheerfully made her way to her seat behind the already present Gohan. In fact during lunch she decided that the absence of Sharpner constantly hitting on her was a welcome change. Gohan also seemed to have recovered from the mental damage he received the previous day, deciding that being reduced to a manservant for the day was an appropriate punishment. Videl herself didn't think he was in any need of punishment, since he was just fulfilling his role as trainer, but at the same to she wasn't going to give up on her dream of having him be her bitch. Before she had always been freaked out by herself when she thought of it, but now she decided she would just enjoy the moment.

School was over all too quickly and she soon found herself on her way to Capsule Corp. She was soon back in the gravity room, and so was trunks, who today was wearing a yellow pooh bear shirt with brown shorts. After another two hours of chasing the toddler round and falling flat on her face, she noticed that she was finally able to pick up a little speed without falling over. Still couldn't as much as jog though. Once the three hours of gravity training were over, she enjoyed some more of Chi-Chi's cooking before returning to the clearing for an hour of meditation. By the time she left Capsule corp. that evening the sky had gone completely dark, and she noticed with a gasp it was already eight o'clock at night. She'd have to come up with an excuse to tell her father for where she'd been. She could never say she'd been at a boy's house, even if that house happened to be Capsule Corp. and the reason had been training.

As normal Gohan walked her back to her house.

"I'll see you tomorrow," he said with a cheery wave. Videl grinned back at him.

"You bet your ass you will," she told him with a grin. "And don't forget about your promise either."

Gohan smiled and shook his head.

"I won't," he told her. Then he turned around and walked off. Videl simply grinned after his retreating figure. Tomorrow she was going to have so much fun. Hey everyone needed a hobby. It just so happened that her's included tormenting her friends in creative ways.

**So yeah, Videl finally gets her wish. But things are not going to go the way she wants them to. So I decided to end the chapter here so that I could focus the entirety of the next chapter on events truly relative to the plot. I decided to skim over the second day of training, because you've all read about how it works once, and Videl doesn't make any noticeable improvement worth mentioning yet. So I decided not to bore you all with it. Well be prepared for an extra-long chapter tomorrow. R&R please.**


	12. Sweet Rice with bitter sauce

**Hi guys. Slightly longer chapter than usual, about 5,600 words without the footnotes. That's not too bad eh. It was difficult to find ways to torture Gohan using Videl's slave hold on him, mainly because he tends to do anything he's asked anyway. Well I'm just going to take a sec to tell everyone why every chapter name has the word rice in it since people keep asking. Gohan means cooked rice in Japanese, so each chapter title actually represents Videl's interactions with Gohan during the chapter.**

**Next I have some bad news for you all. I may not have the time to update tomorrow. The reason being today is my last day at home, before my parents and siblings leave on holiday leaving me all alone. I will be shipped off somewhere for two weeks but no worries since I'll still have my laptop. But I will be a bit busier over the coming days, and at some point I've been scheduled to die a violent death from being trampled by horses. If I survive this then everything things fine. But if I don't survive then I'm afraid there will be no more chapters of Broken Record, since I'll be dead and all. Well that's everything I wanted to say for now. Please enjoy the chapter. I've been up since eight this morning writing it. **

**I do not own DBZ DX**

"Hey Gohan, give me some of your lunch."

Gohan looked at the smiling girl opposite him like she was insane. Giver her his lunch? That is one thing a Saiyan would never do willingly, no matter how kind hearted. Of course, right now he didn't have much of a choice, since he'd been tricked into being her slave all day. So with great reluctance and a very heavy sigh, he handed her a single bowel of chicken curry that he hadn't gotten round to yet.

Videl quickly accepted the bowel and quickly dug in, completely ignoring the looks of shock from Erasa and Sharpner, both knowing Gohan enough to know that the one thing he would never share was food.

"Okay, I know that Gohan has been acting like her little bitch boy all day, but he actually gave her his food?" said Sharpner, eyeing the pair with suspicion. "What the fuck is going on here?"

Videl just smiled sweetly back at him. "Let's just say Gohan lost a bet."

"Emotional blackmail would be more accurate," muttered Gohan, as he continued to devour the rest of his meal, before Videl could take it from him.

"Oh stop whining," she said, waving him off. "Besides have you two tried this stuff? His mom's cooking is better than a five star chef."

She greedily continued to devour the curry, cleaning the bowel at a pace that almost matched Gohan's.

"More please," she said with a smile, holding out the empty bowel towards Gohan.

Gohan stopped eating to give her a look of absolute horror, as he was forced to hand over a second bowel of food. Gohan was mourning the loss of his food right up till the end of lunch.

Gym wasn't much better for the Saiyan. At the end of it, during the twenty minute session, Videl asked him to be her partner in practising some techniques. This mainly involved allowing himself to be thrown and put in some pretty humiliating positions. Videl was cackling like an evil witch right up until she threw him face first into the wall. The entire gym seemed to go silent, as Videl was suddenly at Gohan's side muttering apologies to the badly manhandled teen and the coach went to check if he was alright. To everyone's surprise the wall now had a rather large crack in it, but Gohan's face was completely unscathed.

He had hoped that throwing him into a brick wall would calm Videl down a bit. Not a chance. As soon as she found out he was alright, she was back at it. When Gym ended she made him carry her bag and books to class for her. Then ten minutes into English class with Mrs Fidkins Gohan saw a scrunched of piece of paper land on his desk. He opened it up and read the two simple words written down.

'_Say Bogies.'_

He turned round to stare at Videl with a look of complete bafflement. She simply gave him a wink and stuck her thumb up.

* * *

"I can't believe you actually did it," Videl laughed, fighting back tears as she strolled down the corridor next to her would be servant. Gohan only groaned in response. His single utterance of the word bogies and set the entire class off, every saying it louder and louder one after another. He didn't get why they did it, but it didn't take Mrs Fidkins long to find out who was at the heart of it. He'd received a severe scolding though no detention since it was his first offence.

The two teens turned a corner and found Sharpner and Erasa waiting for them.

"Hey you two," the bubbly blond called, waving them over. "You want to walk home together."

Videl shook her head.

"I'm making Gohan go to the mall with me," she said with a sadistic smile. Then her smile turned normal.

"You two want to come?"

Erasa looked at Sharpner who shrugged back.

"Sure," said the bubbly blond with a giggle.

Gohan just sighed to himself. It was going to be a long day.

* * *

Gohan was now sat at the table, surrounded by the three dozen bags he's been forced to carry. Videl was definitely a power abuser. It was one thing to have him carry Her's and Erasa's bags, but Sharpner's too! And the guy brought more stuff than they did. There were at least three whole bags here dedicated to Sharpner's hair care products. He has ordered cookie and cream doughnuts and a strawberry milkshake at the café. It was his first time trying a doughnut and the second trying a milkshake though it was a different flavour this time. He decided that he liked both of them. So he quickly scoffed down another doughnut. And then another. He'd ordered twenty of them after all. The other three occupants at the table ignored him, except Videl who forced him to hand a doughnut to each of them, just to see the look on his face.

"So, you and Gohan have been hanging out together a lot lately," Erasa said to Videl with a sly smirk. "Anything you're not telling us?"

"Please," said Sharpner, flicking a few stray blond hairs over his shoulder. "As if Videl could possibly be interested in a naïve country bumpkin like Gohan when there's an absolute hunk like me here."

Videl's answer to Sharpner was to angrily kick him in the shin under the table and then steal a glance at Gohan, who just looked confused.

"Actually Sharpner, Gohan's in the top three of every girl in the school's 'I would date list'. He's super popular you know."

Gohan gave her a suspicious look. He was popular? And what the hell's a 'to date list?'

"Well he might be on the lists but I'm at the top of the lists," bragged Sharpner, only for Erasa to nod her head.

"You're on a few lists," she admitted. "But so far you're not in anyone's top five."

Sharpner looked like someone had just taken his overblown ego and stuck a pin in it. Then stuck a second pin in the same whole and tore it so there was a bigger whole.

"You're saying that brains over there is more popular than me?" he asked disbelievingly.

"A lot of people are more popular than you," she told him with a giggle.

"Well how about your list, how do I rank on there," he asked with pleading in his voice. To everyone's surprise Erasa actually pulled a list out of her pocket and held it open for them all to see.

"Number seven," she giggled, pointing to Sharpner's name near the bottom of the list. Gohan was on there too, in the number two spot. But for some reason the number one spot was empty.

Gohan was pretty sure he'd figured out what a date list was now. He decided it was a list of potential spouses in preference order. At first he'd thought it was a list of friends but then he noticed all the people on Erasa's list were male and that Videl and ruby weren't on there.

"Why is the top spot blank?" asked Videl, giving the piece of paper a quizzical look.

"Well obviously I'll fill it in when I meet someone just as nice and sweet as Gohan but hasn't already been taken by you," she said with a smile, causing Videl to stutter on her drink.

"Hey, what about you Videl, I'm at the top of your list aren't I?" asked Sharpner, completely disregarding what Erasa just said and looking at her like she was his last hope.

"Sorry Sharpie," said Videl, wiping the spilt drink from around her mouth. "But I don't have a list, and even if I did there's no way you'd be on it."

Sharpner's shoulder's sagged and he looked like he might start crying. Gohan almost felt sorry for him. Almost.

"So Gohan," said Erasa, giving him a feral smile. "Why don't you tell us all the naughty things Videl's been making you do when no one's looking."

This caused Videl to sputter her drink again. Gohan didn't really know what Erasa meant by naughty things, but having known her for almost a month now he could make a pretty good guess.

"I don't make him do things like that," growled Videl angrily before he could answer, her face going beet red.

"What?" Erasa gasped in mock shock. "You're telling me you've got the most desired boy in school bowing to your every whim, and you haven't taken advantage of him yet?"

Gohan snorted. Videl had taken advantage of him alright. She ate his food, tossed him at walls and made him carry all her bags. She made him instigate class riots, scout ahead for Sharpner in order to avoid him and made him go shopping.

"Unlike you Erasa, I'm not a pervert," barked Videl gruffly and crossing her arms with a pout on her face. Erasa smiled coyly and leaned closer to Gohan.

"So Gohan, you have to do whatever Videl wants for the whole day right?"

"Umm, yeah," said Gohan, nodding his head.

She leaned over more so she could whisper in his ear.

"So what if she wants something but doesn't tell you about it?"

'Oh, I think Krillin told me about his,' thought Gohan. 'About how woman never say what they really want and expect all men to figure it out by themselves.'

"I'm not really sure," said Gohan.

A wide smirk spread across Erasa's lips.

"You see, what Videl really wants is a kiss," she whispered into Gohan's ear, making him go red. "But she's way too shy to ask. So if you have to give Videl whatever she wants, don't you think you should give her a kiss?"

Erasa leaned back, and winked at him. Videl saw this and Gohan's voice and growled at Erasa.

"Hey, what did you just say to him?"

Erasa giggled at her fuming friend.

"Just your hearts most inner desire," she told her teasingly.

Then Videl gave a huge smile to Erasa.

"You realise I can just make Gohan tell me whatever you told him right," she said, giving her friend a victory grin. A look of realization fell on Erasa's face.

"Gohan, spill."

Gohan gave her a strange look. "Do I really I really have to. I really wanted to finish this," he said holding up his milkshake.

Videl growled at him angrily.

"Not the milkshake you idiot. Tel me what Erasa said."

"Oh," he said. "She said-,"

"No, don't tell her Gohan, show her," encouraged Erasa.

Videl turned to eye her friend evilly.

"Show me what?" she barked back.

Erasa turned to give Gohan a happy look.

"You heard the lady."

Gohan gave a sigh of defeat then stood up. Videl watched him, the angry expression on her face turning to confusion.

"What are you doing Gohan?"

Instead of answering he leant down till his face was close to hers.

"Gohan, what are you-,"

Swiftly he leant forwards and pecked her on the cheek. Then he very quickly sat back down.

Videl went completely silent, her cheeks turning a burning crimson colour. Sharpner looked like he'd just seen a newsflash announcing the end of the world. Erasa however did not seem impressed.

"Gohan, you were supposed to go for her lips," she scolded, wagging her finger at him.

"What," gasped Gohan, startled by what he's been expected to do. "But that's what l-lovers do."

Erasa merely shook her head in disappointment. "Well it will have to do I suppose. You alive there V?"

Videl had still not so much as moved a muscle. Her cheeks were still slightly crimson and her mouth was stuck open in an o shape. Gohan felt a little bit of satisfaction as he watched the girl. Like he'd just gotten back at her for all the things she'd made him do today.

"Awe, she's love struck," Erasa cooed, seemingly snapping Videl out of her trance in the process. Videl raised a single hand to the spot on her cheek where Gohan had kissed her. Then without another word she got up from the table and headed straight over to the lady's toilet, blushing furiously all the way.

"Dude," said Sharpner angrily from across the table. "lips off my girl."

Gohan gave Sharpner a look but didn't say anything.

"Sharpner, don't you think it's time you gave up on Videl? She's obviously not interested in you," said Erasa. She was getting fed up off Sharpner's infatuation with Videl. Especially since he had somehow deluded himself into thinking the infatuation was mutual, and no matter how much anyone hinted otherwise he never seemed to get it.

"You don't get it Erasa. Videl and I are a perfect match for each other. Both of us stand at the pinnacle of strength, grace and beauty. We're soul mates Erasa."

Erasa rested her head on her hand and sighed. After that speech Gohan felt like doing something similar.

* * *

Videl stared at her crimson face in the mirror. Gohan had kissed her. Yeah it was just on the cheek, and from the way he reacted it wasn't something he believed only people in love do. But still, he'd kissed her on the cheek. For some reason the act of kissing someone, whether on the cheek or otherwise always seemed like something completely meaningless to Videl. A gesture of thanks at best. At least that's what it's like when she kissed her father on the cheek. But somehow with Gohan, it suddenly seemed like such a big thing. Her heart rate quickened, not necessarily from the kiss, though that did have something to do with it, but from his closeness when he performed the act. When his face had gotten so close to her, her brain had shut down and she could hear the blood pumping in her ears. It was like time slowed down and everything else and everyone else disappeared for that one moment. She'd felt, vulnerable. More vulnerable than she ever had before because a single gesture could beat out all her senses. And the worst part is she didn't hate the feeling either. To be vulnerable, and show weakness in front of someone was her ultimate fear, If she was weak, then people would take advantage of her, especially since she was the daughter of Hercule. So she had to be strong. But Gohan had made her feel like a vulnerable weak little girl and she hadn't minded it one bit.

She rubbed the spot where he'd kissed her, trying to will her face to turn back to normal.

"It's just a kiss," she muttered to her reflection. "Just one stupid kiss. It didn't mean anything."

It was twenty full minutes before she got back from the bathroom. She came back to a rather amusing sight. Sharpner was still rattling off reasons why he and Videl would be the perfect couple. Gohan, from the looks of it had fallen asleep with his head buried in his arms. Erasa was completely ignoring Sharpner in favour of texting someone on her phone. Videl sneaked up behind Sharpner and punched down on his head. There was a resounding crack as her fist connected and the teen instantly shut up.

"Now listen here Sharpner," said a very irritated Videl. "You and I will never be a couple. Ever. I would sooner get with a pig. You are an inconsiderate asshole who is completely incapable of understanding girls and you only care about your own image. And the only reason you pretend to be so infatuated with me is because you see me as a big trophy you can hang off your arm and say 'look, I snagged the daughter of Hercule.'"

She glared down at a now terrified Sharpner, as if daring him to correct her. She hadn't meant to say all that, but since she'd just gotten back from contemplating just why Gohan had kissed her, she was a bit temperamental so she decided to forgive herself for flying off the deep end. Rather the look of terror and hurt on Sharpner's face seemed to cheer her up.

Erasa looked up from her texting session but said nothing, instead opting to keep quiet and then stealthily pick up whatever was left of Sharpner when Videl was done. Speaking of Sharpner he seemed to have at last found his voice.

"I don't see you as a trophy," he told Videl, he's eyes pleading with her to believe him. "It's just that you're the best Videl. No one's as beautiful as you are and no one's as talented as you are either."

He looked up at her like a puppy asking for a break after it had shat the carpet. Of course Videl had a little bit of a sadist streak so that look was not going to get him anywhere with her.

"So what you're saying is that you love my body, but don't give a flying fuck about my personality." She summarised, grinning down at him with a smile so sinister it would make the grim reaper back off.

"No, that's not it," said Sharpner hurriedly shaking his head. "You're personality's the best too."

"How so?" questioned the raven haired girl, raising an eyebrow.

"Well you're really smart, and you're always trying to help out and save people. You don't take bullshit off anyone and you try really hard at whatever you do."

Videl nodded her head, but didn't let up.

"Okay, so let's just ask the question again. What about my personality is good?"

"Well you're kind-,"

"I'm not."

"You're funny-,"

"I find you in severe pain funny."

"You always put others first."

"Enough bull Sharpner," said Videl, holding up her hand and shaking her head. She didn't even seem angry anymore. By this point both Erasa and Gohan were watching with fascination as Videl began preparing her big speech.

"I'm not kind. If someone trips on the stairs I laugh at them. When someone asks me for help with something like carrying a book I tell them to fuck off. I'm not funny, I don't do jokes, and I don't find anything other than my enemy's writhing in agony funny. I'm a paranoid self-centred bitch stuck in a house I can't stand with a man who's suffocating me with his stupidly large ego. Sharpner I have no idea what you see me as but you've deluded yourself into thinking that I'm something I'm not."

Videl let out a deep breath. She felt a lot better now. Maybe, finally Sharpner would leave her alone. She did regret, sort of, that she had pretty much snapped at Sharpner. After all today had been going great for her. Then Gohan kissed her and all of a sudden it was like all the pent up emotions she had had risen to the surface and tried to break out. And then she got back to the table to hear Sharpner speaking about how perfect she was even though she was felt like she was so wrong, and she'd let out all that emotion, and all that self-doubt, and she'd pretty much lost control of herself over something as silly as Sharpner. But it did feel good to do it. That is until she noticed Gohan staring at her and suddenly started blushing again. Sharpner noticed this too.

"Why is brain's so good?" he barked, pointing at Gohan and glaring at him as though he'd done something horribly offensive. "Just because he's smart, and he's really strong too. But the kid's naïve as fuck, and completely oblivious to pretty much everything to boot."

"Look," said Videl, finding she didn't even have the energy to argue with Sharpner anymore. He just didn't seem worth the hassle. "If there's a reason that Gohan's better than you it's because he doesn't have his head stuck up his own ass. Unlike you and my Dad he practices something called modesty, and he even has that kind hearted thing down that you accused me of having."

Sharpner looked well and truly like a kicked puppy. Well not a puppy because puppies are cute. A kicked mongrel then. Videl actually felt a little bad now.

"Look Sharpie," she said, hoping his nickname would cheer him up, but Sharpner didn't react. "It's not like I hate you," Videl tried, "but you've got to wake up and take a look at the real world. You're never going to be popular with the girls if you keep acting like an ass."

Sharpner finally looked up at her, but he still didn't look terribly happy.

"Wow, you're really bad at this Videl," said Erasa from where she'd been watching. "Why don't you skedaddle and take Gohan with you. I'll try and cheer the big guy up."

Videl sighed and gave her friend a nod.

"Thanks,' she said, then she looked over to Gohan. "You, up! We're going."

She immediately stalked off, not waiting to see if Gohan was following her. She already knew he was. He was still her slave after all.

The two walked down the street in silence for a while. Without even thinking Videl had started walking home. A lot of things were going around in her mind. Eventually she asked Gohan something that had been bothering her for the last hour.

"Gohan, why did you kiss me?" she asked, avoiding his gaze as he kept pace besides her.

"Because Erasa said you wanted me too. And it seemed like a good idea at the time."

"So it's not because you like me?" she asked, trying to keep the nervousness out her voice.

"Of course I like you," said Gohan offhandedly. "I'd never do that to someone I didn't like."

Videl frowned. "That's not what I mean." She said.

"Then what did you mean," asked Gohan, completely lost.

She glared at him. "You're a real jerk sometimes you know that?"

She huffed and stormed off up the road.

"Hey!" called Gohan immediately bolting off after her. Once he was beside her again he stopped running and fell back into pace beside her.

"What did I do?" he asked a worried expression clear on his face.

"Sharpner's right, you are naïve as fuck."

She didn't know why but she felt like crying.

'Could I actually like Gohan?' she thought to herself before shaking the thought away. 'There's no way, I've only known him for like a month.'

But the thought didn't help her blush disappear and she still avoided eye contact with Gohan. He found this rather annoyed him. He grabbed her by the shoulders, stopping her from walking and spun her round to face him, causing her blush to deepen.

"Look," he said, not really sure what he was going to say. "I'm … sorry that I kissed you. And I'm sorry it upset you."

Whatever reaction he was expecting it was not the one he got. She slapped him and a few tears fell down her cheek. She wriggled herself free of his grasp and took a step backwards.

"IDIOT!" she screamed at him, not noticing the tears falling down her face. "I don't want you to apologize for it!"

She didn't know what she wanted him to do, but apologize wasn't it. For some reason that just hurt.

"You know what Gohan, just go home. I've had enough today. I'll… I'll see you at school."

She turned on her heel and stalked off, leaving Gohan behind.

He wanted to follow her. But somehow, he felt that right now wasn't the time.

"Sorry," he muttered once more, under his breath. Then he too started to make his way home.

Videl sniffled. The day was not going as she planned. It was supposed to be a good day where Gohan was her little bitch boy. Instead Gohan had kissed her (on the cheek), she'd blown her top at Sharpner and confused the hell out of poor Gohan, who she realised hadn't really done anything wrong. In other words the one responsible for all the bad things today was her. First she'd been a total bitch to Sharpner, and then she'd expected Gohan to return the feelings that she was still telling herself she didn't have. Alright s maybe, just maybe, she had a little tiny oh so small crush on him. And that's why she reacted so weird to the kiss. Because he'd kissed her in front of everyone and it had been embarrassing.

"Actually this is his fault. Everything started with that stupid kiss," she hissed to herself. Tomorrow she was going to have him apologize to her and then, she was going to make him her slave again for another week. This thought actually made her feel a little better, and she decided there and then that it was the best course of action.

But all thoughts of the like flew through the window as soon as she got home. Her front gate had been ripped open. Frowning she stepped through, cautiously making her way into the house. The front doors had been smashed open as well, and Cari was lying unconscious on the floor with a split lip and a gash on his temple. She dipped down, pressing an ear to his chest.

He seemed to be breathing all right.

She heard sounds coming from the living room, so she quickly made her way over. Her father was fighting. Two very familiar men clad in blue hoody's and plain masks were tag teaming him, and Videl realized that not only were they fighting her father, supposedly the strongest man in the world, but they were winning too.

"Dynamic punch!" her father yelled, leaping forwards to smash one of the masked men's faces in. But the man side stepped, allowing her father to bury his fist into the wall instead. Then the man buried his fists into her father's stomach one, two, three times. Hercule fell to his knees, ripping his hand out of the wall as he did so. He clutched his stomach in pain as the two men stood over him.

"Hey look who decided to join is," said one with a sickly sinister voice. "It's the little kitty who chased me into that ally last time."

They'd spotted her. The other man raised a foot, and slammed it down onto her father's head, smashing his face into the floor.

"Don't mind us," he told her in his deep voice. "We just need to borrow your father for a bit. We promise we'll get him back to you sometime next week."

Videl was honestly speechless. Not once in her entire life did she ever think her father would be defeated. But here he was unconscious with his face smashed into the floor. She knew that she'd always wanted him to lose, but not like this.

'Guess you really do have to be careful what you wish for.'

"Who are you," she growled at the two men. It was almost like they'd been waiting for her to ask.

"We are the fighters of Clarity," said the one with the insane sinister voice. "We're going to get rid of the fog of bullshit your father's made and reveal the truth to the people."

Videl glared at them. "What the fuck do you mean by that?"

"He means that your father is a liar, and for this crime our master wishes to punish him."

Videl didn't really get it. From the sound of it her father had really pissed someone off. Maybe he'd promised himself to some rich lady behind her back then bailed, and now she'd sent her goons to finish him off for her.

"You're not taking my father anywhere," she told them, getting into a stance.

"Oh right, and you're going to stop us," laughed the other one, letting his insane laughter ring out. "Because that worked so well for you before."

Videl had to admit the man had a point. And they'd just defeated her father, who was said to be undefeatable. But all the same she had to try.

"Well, whatever. You know what; I wanted another chance to humiliate you anyways."

The sinister man quickly approached her, putting up his hands in what seemed to be a boxing stance. The other man soon followed, erecting his own stance.

Suddenly the insane sounding one struck. He shot his hand out, his fist firing at her faster than any criminal she'd ever thought.

But it was still as slow as a snail compared to Gohan. She saw his muscle tense and release as he shot his fist forward, and despite the speed she was sure it had, it still looked slow to her. Of course even if her eyes could keep up, it was another thing for her body. She realized her mistake too late, forcing her to try blocking the blow rather than dodging. She brought her arm up and the fist smashed into it, causing her to stagger slightly.

'Mental note, dodge earlier,' she thought to herself.

The other man, in time with his partner lashed out at her legs whilst she was guarding her torso. She decided to take a note from Gohan's book, and stuck her leg forwards guarding with her shin by pushing it into the sweeping kick. Then she quickly lashed out at the man with her fist whilst he had been taken by surprise with her improvised guarding technique. The man barely managed to dodge her fist, when the other tried to make up for his partners mistake by sending another punch her way. This time she was ready. She moved to the left, allowing the blow to skim just past her ear, then moved in close. Before he could react, she planted a punch of her own, right below his ribcage. Grinning to herself, she didn't react in time when the man suddenly grabbed her arm, holding it in place. The other, seeing the opportunity brought a knee to her side. She tried to move with it, but he caught her anyway, and a shot of pain went up her side. Then he quickly aimed a punch for her face. Reacting on instinct Videl caught the punch. Deciding on her next course of action she kneed the creepy one to let go of her before she titled her head back then smashed it forward in a ferocious head-butt. The man screamed as a corner of his mask was shattered and let go. The other man grabbed her by her shirt and flung her backwards. She landed heavily on her back and slid along the floor. Luckily she had a lot of experience with painful landings lately and hurriedly got back to her feet.

The unharmed thug was tending to the now injured one, removing a bit of the mask that was stuck in the man's face.

"Fucking bitch!" he yelled, eying her with his now visible right eye. "I'll fucking kill her!"

There was a large cut above his eye where the piece of the mask had been cut into his flesh. He glared at her with a green eye full of rage before charging at her with an enraged yell.

Videl saw his legs tense and knew instantly he was going to jump. To perceive the opponent and read them was something she'd learned from that brutally painful training session with Gohan, and against an enraged opponent it was all the more useful. The man leapt just before he reached her, aiming a kick at her head. She caught the leg before it could damage her. The enraged man suddenly swung his other leg, using his entrapped one as a pivot trying to slam it into her head again. Videl blocked this kick too It was then that she saw a rather obvious opening. As the man fell, Videl brought her fist crashing forward into the man's groin. Her blow was strong enough to bring the man crashing down, landing stiffly with his back still I the air, his neck bent against the ground and Videl's fist still securely rammed into his nether regions.

"No idea I was that strong," she whispered to herself, noticing the small crack in the floor. She removed her fist from the dirty place she'd been forced to put it and watched as the man fell onto his back. His visible eye had rolled into the back of his head, showing he was out cold. Footsteps suddenly brought her attention to the remaining man. But rather than trying to fight her he picked up his comrade under one arm and looked down at her as he stood back up.

"You have made a large improvement since last time," he noted. He didn't sound particularly angry that his partner would likely never have kids. "It's a shame you're that man's daughter."

He nodded over to Hercule whose face was still indented into the floor.

"We'll leave for today," the man declared, but Videl blocked his path to the door.

"You're not going anywhere except prison," she growled at him, earning a chuckle from the man.

"Foolish girl. You believe the police can contain us. We are clarity. We are truth and like all truth's we will come out into the open in good time. But for now, we will allow you to live within the lie this man has concocted a little longer.

Suddenly the man was holding something. He slammed it off the ground and it erupted into dark smoke. Videl couldn't see a thing, and even if she did she was too busy coughing out the smoke she inhaled to do anything about it. She was suddenly shoved abruptly out the way. She got up and raced to where she believed the door to be, but missed it by an inch and slammed into the wall instead. Groaning she felt along the wall until she came to the door, finally exiting the room and the smoke as well.

She raced through the house and out the front door, looking for any sign of the men clad in blue. There was none.

"Damnit!"

**It was never supposed to be such a big rant with Sharpner, just the head punch and good shut up. But then I suddenly felt like bullying him, and it turned into a large bulk of this chapter. And I didn't want to get rid of it because then I'd have to write it all out again later. I also realize that I am no good at writing the romantic feeling stuff. Sorry but you'll have to be patient until I get it down. Oh and by the way, the leader of clarity is an original character, and I've worked really hard coming up with his backstory and everything, so don't expect Tao Pie pie or anyone like that to be the leader. Well then, what are you waiting for. Hit the review button. Don't you want the next chapter?**

**Well I cleaned up this entire chapter, but I'd just like to say something. Even though I pointed out above that Clarity's leader was**


	13. Not enough Rice

**Okay, here's the next chapter. Sorry for not updating yesterday, I was a bit busy. Rather busy today too, but I found some free time. A-man, you need to actually get an account so then I can message you back rather than putting up my explanations here. There are three reasons why Videl had an easier time against the crooks, other than her training with Gohan. The last time she was wearing her waited shirt. I may not have written it in but last Chapter Videl wasn't wearing her waited clothing since it was a day after gravity room training. Plus she's been wearing those waited clothed for nearly a month now. She's bound to have shown some progression. Second reason, those guys just finished fighting Hercule. I know that compared to the Z-fighters he's a nobody, but to normal humans, which both of those crooks were, he's pretty freaking strong. The third reason is that the bloke attacked her in a fit of rage, which pretty much made him easier to handle. You know, more predictable and stuff. So Videl right now is probably about as strong and fast as Mr Satan, but she's more skilled, since unlike Hercule she fights more often. Anyway on with the chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I have no plans to at all to steal the rights to Dragon ball Z. **

The police were filing in and out of the Satan mansion. Hercule Satan had recovered rather quickly from his beating and was expected to address the press on the break in, into his house. Videl herself had been bandaged up by a medic. She hadn't actually realised how hurt she'd been. She must have been on an adrenaline rush or something because when the Nurse examined her later, she pointed put first a large gash on her head she much have gotten when she head-butted one of the masked men. She also had a broken rib from when the other man had kneed her. No idea how she missed that one. Her arms were covered in bruises from blocking the men's blows and her left leg had gone a nasty purple colour, which she was told is the result of a fracture. That one most likely came from when she'd tried to copy Gohan's technique. She was bandaged up and given painkillers, even though she didn't feel like she was in that much pain. She was told that would change by morning. She was also given a crutch and told to stay off her leg. With that done she went outside to hear her father's press conference. She was just as curious as anyone to find out what had happened.

Her father was addressing the paparazzi, those annoying people who always seem to be outside her house, from atop a podium. He had bloodied bandage around his head but other than that he seemed fine.

"Mr Satan, the whole world is wondering how you, the strongest man in the world were bested by two thugs. Surely there must have been some underhanded tactics involved," said one nasally reporter.

Hercule nodded and seemed to regard the man's question.

"These cowards broke into my home just after I returned from an intense training session. I was rather tired at the time, and in my fatigued state, I noticed to late there were intruders on the premises. What's more, the cowards attacked me, the champ with some sort of knockout gas. Well of course, something like that wasn't going to work on me. But it was still difficult to fight without breathing any in. I still managed to give them a good run for their money though, and I was able to remain conscious for at least an hour before my daughter Videl, returned home and finished off those already weakened goons. Sadly they were able to utilise some more of their dirty tricks and escape."

Videl could actually feel a groan working its way up her throat. How did her father manage to sound so proud even in defeat? He had a bloody bandage round his head and he was still standing on the podium giving the reporters his boisterous laugh.

"Mr Satan, how long do you think it will be before the police are able to track down these law breakers and bring them to justice," asked an attractive blond reporter with glasses.

Hercule looked at her and grinned. The woman blushed.

'Oh god no,' thought Videl, noticing the display between the two.

"Well since their opponents were my daughter and myself I think we can all safely say these guys didn't get off easy. They've left a lot of evidence lying about the place. We have a few shards of a mask one of the guys was wearing which is covered in his blood, as well as other bits of evidence. If the culprit already has a criminal record then he'll be swiftly caught, and then I think that I personally will bring this poser pain, for daring to harm my daughter!"

"Mr Satan," said another reporter as soon as he's finished. "Do you believe this attack has anything to do with the attack on your daughter some weeks ago?"

Videl decided she didn't want to watch her father anymore, or hear how he was going to answer that question. She swiftly decided to return back to her house, before a commotion by the gates caught her attention. Her friends, Gohan, Erasa and Sharpner were all there trying to argue her way past the police. Gohan quickly spotted her and tried to wave her over. Scowling, with the memory of their last encounter still in her mind, she made her way over to them.

"Let them through," she told the officer by the gate. The man blinked before stepping aside allowing her friends to all converge on her at once.

"Oh Videl," said Erasa, going to glomp her friend. Videl quickly moved out the way. She pointed to her bandaged arm, allowing Erasa to quickly get the message. No hugs.

"What are you guys doing here?" she asked, although she was secretly happy they had all came.

"There was a news flash about the attack. So we all ran here. We found Gohan moping on a bench on the way, and when we told him about it he came to," she said nodding over to the black haired teen. "We tried calling you to check you were alright but you wouldn't answer your phone."

Videl frowned and dig her hand into her pocket, pulling out her purple and white phone. The thing had gotten smashed at some point. Probably when that one guy threw her. She put it back in her pocket and turned back to her friends. She noticed Sharpner was trying to avoid eye contact, whereas Gohan, who she'd just slapped a few hours ago, was just staring at her in concern. He'd been moping on a bench? An image came to mind of Gohan sitting on a with a slap mark on his face and a pout. The image made her giggle. It was weird because he didn't actually have a mark on his face, even though she'd slapped him quite hard. Hard enough for her hand to feel like it had just slapped a brick wall rather than a person. It had gone all red afterwards but she hadn't paid it much notice.

Her three friends were rather astonished when Videl suddenly started giggling, though she soon stopped. The fact that she seemed happy enough to giggle after just being attacked served to at least convince them she was doing better than they thought.

"So Sharpner," said Videl, turning her attention to the annoying blond who was suddenly acting shy. "Are you okay now," she asked him, not bothering to dwell on the irony of the question. Sharpner did though.

"How can you say that, you're the one who got banged up?"

She shrugged. "I'm used to it. So are you feeling better now?"

The blond gave a small nod. "Yeah, look I'm sorry if my attitude bothers you. And I'm sorry for being mean to Gohan too," he said, looking over to the teen.

Gohan gave him a blank stare. Sharpner had been mean to him? He hadn't noticed.

"It's fine," Gohan said, since Sharpner would expect him to say something.

"I'm sorry too," said Videl, earning a shocked stare from both of them. "To Sharpner, not you Gohan. I shouldn't have yelled at you like that yesterday. So sorry."

She held out her hand.

"Friends?"

Sharpner smiled and shook her hand.

"Friends," he repeated with a smile.

"So does this mean you're going to stop hitting on me?" asked Videl with hope clear in her voice.

"Not till the day you die."

"…"

The friends all went inside the house, mainly to avoid the reporters who seemed to spot her. They couldn't go in the living room since that's where the police were, so Videl decided to take them all to her room instead. Gohan and Sharpner were both honestly surprised when they got there. Gohan didn't really know what he was expecting from Videl's room, but he was somehow expecting there to be a punching bag in one corner and probably white walls. She seemed to like the colour white. Sharpner, having always been disillusioned with Videl, expected a girly room. They were both wrong. The walls were purple, there was a TV on top of a dresser, a DVD rack with some dvd's of her father's tournaments, a small wardrobe for clothes and a single bed with Garfield sheets. Erasa didn't seem the least surprised at the interior of the room, since she'd been there before. Although she did eye the Garfield sheets with some disdain.

"So Videl," Erasa said, immediately heading over to the bed and sitting down. "Why did these guys break into your house? Do you know?"

"Meh, something about my father spouting bullshit," she said, having not given it much thought. She swiftly crawled onto the bed so she was sitting cross legged in the centre. Gohan and Sharpner stayed standing.

"The weird thing is that it was the same pair of crooks who attacked me last time. I was able to beat them this time, but it was more because the one guy went mental at the end. If he'd stayed in formation with his partner we probably wouldn't be having this conversation."

Videl frowned to herself. Those two were really strong. And the guy she hadn't knocked out, for some reason he scared her a lot more than the bat shit insane guy.

"Hmm, well then I think you should keep Gohan here as a Bodyguard," said Erasa, getting straight into teasing mode. Videl just stared at her.

"What?"

"Well if you're having trouble because it's two against one then just even the odds. I think you and Gohan would make a great couple.. erm team." Erasa let out a nervous laugh.

Videl stared at Gohan out of the corner of her eyes. If there was one thing she knew it was that Gohan was definitely still stronger than her. But those guys beat her Dad up. Well he did say they tried using Knockout gas. After all there's no way anyone could beat her Dad in a fair fight, even if there is more than one of them.

"Well I don't think Erasa's entirely wrong," quipped Sharpner earning a surprised look from the three other teens. "Don't get me wrong, Videl obviously belongs with me. But Brains is definitely strong. I'm not saying he should stay here and keep watch or anything, but if you're going outside Videl, try to take him with you. If you can beat these guys then Brains probably can too."

Videl and Erasa were both looking at Sharpner with open mouths. Did he actually just suggest she stick with Gohan?

'I should snap at him more often,' thought Videl.

Five men were all sitting in the confines of a warehouse, each sitting on a crate. They each wore a dark blue hoody with plain masks, except for one, who sat on the tallest crate. His mask had a face, dark rings around the eyes which were shielded from view by tinted glass. An open mouth was smiling down at them all as he sat atop the crate. Soon the warehouse door creaked open, attracting the attention of all the men inside. Another man dressed exactly the same as the others entered the warehouse, with a second man on his shoulder. He unceremoniously dropped the second man to the ground.

"You failed," said one of the men who sat on the right. His voice held a snicker.

"Silence," came a commanding voice. All attention turned the one with the face.

"What happened to the newbie?" he asked, nodding towards the unconscious man.

"The girl returned home. He lost his temper and attacked without thinking."

The one with the face nodded.

"Why did you return without the target?"

The voice was harsh now promising punishment if the wrong answer was given.

"You are a superior fighter; the girl should not have been a problem for you."

There was silence for a while as everyone waited for the answer.

"She was not as weak as we were told. I am not sure I could have beaten her on my own," the man admitted. "Her progress since two weeks ago is rather remarkable. If we were to leave her for another month or so I believe she would surpass me."

"All the more reason to deal with her now."

Clearly the man at the top was not pleased with his excuse.

"Her progress is not natural. Even for you, it has taken the last two years to reach your current level. I believe she will reach it in months. "

The one with the face grunted.

"Then why did you-"

"Because," interrupted the man with the deep voice. "Such progress is only possible if she has someone who is much more powerful to teach her."

This caused some chatter to go around the room. The man with the face jumped down from his crate.

"Are you suggesting that one of _them _is teaching her?"

"Yes."

"… I will inform our leader of your suspicions. I will leave your punishment up to him."

Back at the mansion the four friends had come to an agreement.

"Right then, Gohan is going to walk you to and from school tomorrow. But after that it's the winter holidays," said Erasa excitedly.

"Right, then after that, we'll all come check on you regularly," said Sharpner from his place leaning by the door. "Every day," he added for good measure.

But Videl shook her head. "Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday I do special training." She told them, being careful not to reveal anything other than that. She didn't want to tell them that Gohan was training her. Erasa would never stop with the teasing and she couldn't even fathom what Sharpner's reaction would be. "Soon I'll be strong enough to take care of myself," she said with a smile.

"Okay, so we'll come with you and watch you train," said Sharpner, hoping to reassure her. However this got the opposite effect.

"No!" she snapped. "I mean, there'll be other people there. I'll be fine. But you can all come round every other day."

Erasa gave her a sly smile. "Looks like Videl's got some secrets."

Videl glared at her friend before looking back to Sharpner.

"Look, I'll be totally fine."

She glared at her friends, daring them to protest. To her surprise they didn't.

"Okay guys," said Erasa happily. "It's getting late, and I doubt anything going to happen with all those reporters outside. I think you two should head on home."

Gohan and Sharpner both looked at each other and shrugged.

"What about you?" asked Gohan.

"I'll stay here for the night," said Erasa with a smile. "If something happens I'll call you. So Gohan, that means I'll need your home number."

Once Gohan had scribbled down his phone number and he and Sharpner had said Goodbye, Erasa instantly turned to Videl.

"Alright Videl, we got the whole night to ourselves. And that means that you're going to tell me exactly where you go with Gohan after school all the time."

Videl let her mouth hang.

'Shit, the bitch trapped me!'

**Sorry, sorry, I know it's short. But I don't have much time for writing today. But to be fair, anything I had left to right this chapter was completely unnecessary to the story. So I know that this time round it was a bit boring. I promise though that tomorrow will be a much better chapter. So look forward to it, k XD. **


	14. Xray Rice

**Well this chapter's got one of my favourite original antagonists. He's just so easy to wright, and it's fun writing him too. On the down side the chapters still not the long, just three and a half thousand words or so. I would make it longer, but I don't have time. I have to leave in a bit, and then I won't be able to update till like Friday. Sooo, Guess what. I don't own dragon ball Z. Who would of guessed. Oh yeah, beware of typo's. I was in a rush writing this out so there's probably a good few. **

"Videl Sweetie."

"Yes Dad?"

"This Gohan…,"

"Yes Dad?"

"Why is he eating breakfast with us?"

Gohan was happily eating a large breakfast that had been cooked by Videl's now conscious butler Cari, who seemed to have decided to make a sport of feeding Gohan and seeing if he could actually fill him up.

"Because my friends said that I have to let him walk me to and from school today and in return Sharpner won't hit on me for a week," said Videl cheerily. "But then Gohan arrived early."

'And I accidently offered him breakfast.

It seemed like Gohan wasn't just early to school but everything else too. Hercule watched the boy and sipped his coffee. He knew that despite the boy's appearance he was strong. After all he doubted even Videl had the ability to fling his bulking form across the room and into a wall. So he actually found himself rather okay with the idea of Videl having a bodyguard, even if he did eat all his food. So long as the Boy didn't go anything beyond being her bodyguard.

Videl however was rather annoyed. She wanted to leave the house now, but she had to wait for Gohan to finish. She could just leave him here but that would be rude.

'Well at least Cari's enjoying himself,' thought Videl as he brought out something else for Gohan to eat. He's stopped serving breakfasts now, and was giving Gohan main courses. Right now this included a serving of lamb with roast potatoes, carrots, Yorkshire pudding and something green. Her father had just come down, to see several piles of plates and bowls.

"Is this too your liking?" she heard Cari say, grinning down at the boy. Gohan licked his lips before picking up the plate and fork and then shovelling the food into his mouth.

"If's… delifoufe," he managed to say between mouthfuls. Cari didn't seem to mind Gohan's lack of table manners either.

Hercule however was wondering why Gohan was eating lamb for breakfast and had no less than eight plates and six bowels piled up next to him.

"Gohan didn't you eat breakfast at home?" Videl asked. She knew he could eat an incredible amount of food, but this was just taking the mick. The only explanation she could come up with was that he'd skipped breakfast to come here early.

"I did," answered Gohan putting the plate down. "But I was still a bit hungry and your butler's cooking is really good."

Cari's chest swelled with pride, but Videl was paying more attention to the 'bit hungry' part.

"Well, are you nearly done? We'll be late for school if you take more longer."

Videl noticed a look of disappointment flicker across Cari's face. He really wanted to see how long Gohan could go for. Well it would have to wait for another time.

"Alright then, I'll just finish this lamb," said Gohan, gesturing to the only thing left on his plate. Three seconds later it was gone.

The first half of school passed quickly. Especially for Videl who decided to sleep through the classes. The teachers felt sorry for the poor girl who had to endure such a terrifying thing happening the day before and decided to forgive her. Oh if only they knew. The second Gohan had left the house with her this morning; he'd given her a senzu bean. Apparently as long as she was friends with Gohan serious injuries held no consequences anymore. Now if he only had a way to bring the dead back to life she's never have to worry about a thing ever again. Of course the side effects of the Senzu bean, such as fully restoring your energy would normally make sleep difficult. Luckily the dullness of the lessons helped her out a bit. Finally by Lunch time she was surrounded by her friends, all of whom were shocked to find her completely unharmed. Except for the large plaster on her head, which she had yet to take off?

"So then Videl," said Erasa, apparently managing to get over her immediate recovery from a class A beating and sidling up to her. There were more important questions to ask after all. "Did anything happen between you and Gohan this morning?"

Videl glared at her best friend but otherwise continued eating. The night before Erasa had pretty much kept both of them awake till three in the morning, trying to get Videl to tell her where she always went with Gohan. Gohan had asked her not to tell anyone about his relationship with the brief family, so she had tried to lie to Erasa. But no matter what Erasa wouldn't buy it. So she'd switched to diversion tactics, trying to shift the topic of conversation elsewhere. Didn't work very well. So in the end she'd played her game breaker. Her trump card. The one bit of information that would definitely get her to squeal about something else and hopefully satisfy her for the night. Only problem being that she really didn't want to tell Erasa.

But she'd had no choice. So she'd revealed that maybe there was a small tiny possibility that she just might have a tiny crush on Gohan. She'd then tried to save herself by saying that she wasn't really sure about it, since she'd never had a crush on anyway and that there was a much higher chance she just felt that she could trust him and that she felt he was a good friend and she might be confusing the two feelings. This caused her plan to back fire since Erasa spent the next half an hour trying to assure her it was the first thing and not the latter.

Then when she'd woke up that morning, Erasa had disappeared, leaving a note behind saying she'd gone home early to get her school things, she'd see her at school and to have fun walking there with Gohan. Of course when Videl woke up that morning she'd realized she'd quite possibly made the biggest mistake of her life by revealing her slightly possible feelings to Erasa.

"No," answered Videl, continuing to eat her lunch. She did allow her eyes to flicker to Gohan for a second, to see him happily eating a feast prepared for him by his mother, before flicking them back to her own food. For some reason she wasn't very hungry. Maybe it had something to do with the senzu bean. "Apart from my butler deciding that Gohan's the best challenge he's ever had."

"Eh," said Erasa completely confused. So Videl proceed to spend lunch telling her best friend about Gohan's time at her mansion that morning. Videl found this a much better topic of discussion than any progress she'd made with a crush she wasn't entirely sure she had.

Class after that went similar to earlier. Videl did her best to sleep through it. The teacher's told themselves it was because she'd had a tough day yesterday and not because they were boring. Gohan appeared to be zone out and not paying the slightest bit of attention. The teacher's decided that the boy was probably already aware of everything they were teaching so they ignored him too.

After school the friends all decided they would head to Videl's for a bit rather than go out. Just in case those guys from yesterday returned.

Videl was amusing herself by thinking of the ways in which her friends could help if those guys actually did come back. Gohan could help out by beating the shit out of any one and every one. The problem was he'd probably apologize to them afterwards. Sharpner could try and help out but fail miserably and get knocked out pretty quick. Videl was quite sure that despite the boxing talents he frequently bragged about having, Sharpner was pretty useless here. And Erasa could hide somewhere and then randomly assault people, by talking to them. Or alternatively provide a distraction by yelling silly questions. Yeah Erasa was probably more useless here than Sharpner. But hey, at least they're willing to try. Videl was brought out of her musings by a loud Clang. She spun around to see Sharpner laughing at Gohan, who looked confused. Erasa seemed to be fussing over him as if he was hurt. Well from the looks of it he'd just walked into a lamppost.

'That's my martial arts teacher,' thought Videl with a sigh. 'And possibly my crush. But the verdicts still out on that one.'

"Ha, you shouldn't zone out when you're walking man, you might hit something," giggled Sharpner. Regardless Erasa soon confirmed that Gohan was fine. Not even a scratch in fact. So the friends all decided to ignore the incident and move on. None of them noticed that the lamppost was now tilting at a slight angle.

"Dad, I brought some friends home!" shouted Videl once they'd all reached the front door.

"Okay sweet pea, I'll be down in a bit."

Videl growled to herself. She did not like her father to call her by any of his pet nicknames while they had company. Quickly she ushered her friends inside so she could close the door. Two of three complied, but for some reason Gohan stayed outside. He seemed lost in thought, like he'd zoned out again. He just had no lamp posts to walk into this time.

"Gohan," called Videl. No answer.

"Gohan!" she called again, a little louder this time.

"GOHAN!" Videl practically screamed, breaking the teen Saiyan out his trance.

"Eh, what. Something wrong Videl?"

Videl shook her head.

"You coming in or what," said Videl, nodding her head towards the inside of her house. To her surprise Gohan shook his head.

"Sorry, but err. I got something to do today," he said with an apologetic smile, nervously scratching the back of his head.

Videl frowned at him. He agreed to come round yesterday. How dare he blow her off for something else. Well more like blowing off all of them but it was her house so it was more like he was blowing just her off. Wait that's just stupid. This was Gohan, if he wasn't going back on his promises then he probably has a really good reason. And judging by his recent behaviour she knew what was up.

"Fine," she muttered, earning her a smile from Gohan. She felt her cheeks flush a little when he smiled at her.

'_No no no, I do not have a crush on Gohan. I'm sure it's … something else."_

"I'll some round tomorrow," Gohan said in a slightly hesitant tone. "For your training lessons," he added.

Videl nodded before saying a quick goodbye and shutting the door. The second she did so she turned to face he two other friends.

"Where's Gohan?" asked Erasa, giving Videl a puppy dog look.

"He had to go," she said simply. "Look guys I need the bathroom, so you guys go make yourself comfortable in the living room. I'll be right back. Call Cari if you need anything."

Her two friends nodded before heading to the living room. Quick as a flash she bounded up the stairs. Only she wasn't going to the bathroom. Instead she ran to her room, kicked the door open and dived under her bead. Knocking some stuff out the way, she resurfaced holding a certain item. She saw he somewhat distorted reflection in the item and grinned.

Gohan walked slowly and calmly back down the road from the Satan manor. He went around a single block and onto a deserted street. The Manor was the only house on the estate, the only other building being a private gym located not too far away, and other than that for the most part it was wood area. Gohan stopped once he reached the end of a pavement. He glared to his right, a glare he'd practiced over and over. Psychology was half the battle after all. If you can make your opponent scared enough you might avoid the battle entirely.

"Show yourself," barked Gohan. It was rare that he spoke in anything but a friendly tone, even to his enemies. But then it was rare that he ever got pissed of either. And right now he was pissed off. Because when people were sneaking around after his friends, he tended to get angry.

A man, not much taller than him appeared seemingly out of nowhere. Wearing a dark blue hoody and slacks and a plain white mask. Gohan knew the man had actually been hiding up a tree, specifically the one he just glared at. He also knew that the man had been following them since morning. Or more accurately following Videl.

"You're pretty sharp kid," said the man, his tone light and humorous. "How did you spot me?"

"You were practically broadcasting yourself," answered Gohan. "It was like you were trying to hide your ki but you don't know how. So it kept going up and down again."

Gohan wasn't stupid. He'd figured out more or less what Clarity's goals truly were. And judging by that he also guessed they had knowledge of Ki. And if not then he probably just confused the poor bugger in which case no harm done.

The man seemed rather taken aback by Gohan's answer.

"You can hide your Ki," the man asked, seemingly forgetting that he was the bad guy here, and by extension of that not the one who was supposed to be asking questions. "And more than that you can sense Ki?"

Seemed the man wasn't that stupid either, no matter how stupid he sounded.

"Err."

Gohan wasn't really sure how to answer the man. So he opted to stay quiet and give the man a funny look. He didn't know what effect he was hoping this would have but it wasn't for the man to start giggling at the sight of Gohan's face.

"Ha ha, your face," the giggled before shaking his head. "But wow I didn't know that sensing Ki was possible."

"Then why were you trying to hide it?" asked Gohan, completely confused by the masked man.

"Because I was trying to hide," the man answered simply.

"But you just said…,"

"Look it doesn't matter," said the man, holding up both of his hands in a stop gesture. "What matters is that sensing Ki is possible. And that if you can do stuff like sense Ki then you can probably do other stuff to. Can you do this?"

The man held out his palm. At first nothing happened other than the man was somehow managing to look slightly awkward, even with a mask on. But then he gave a grunt and a tiny yellow ball formed in front of his palm. He aimed the ball of Ki just to Gohan's right and fired. The ball of energy hit a tree, causing the whole thing to shake, and leaves rustled to the ground.

"Pretty cool huh," said the man happily, although Gohan noticed that the man was lightly gripping his right arm that he just fired with, as if massaging it.

"Urr?" somehow Gohan wasn't so pissed any more.

'Looks like I lost the psychological battle,' he thought to himself.

"Yeah I know, leaves you speechless first time you see. But our boss man taught us how to do it," said the man happily. "Tell you what. Why don't I introduce you to the boss man? You'll learn about something really interesting if you meet. You know that Hercule Satan?"

The man suddenly looked left and right as if weary for spies. Ironic really since he was the one spying. Then the man leaned forward and put his hand next to his mouth would be as if he was telling Gohan a secret. From across the road.

"Well he's a dirty liar," whispered the man just loud enough to hear. Then the man straightened up again, putting his hands on his hips.

"It's true, I swear," he said with a nod of his head.

"Err."

Gohan wasn't really sure what to do. Should he just knock this guy out and drag him to the police. Or carry on listening to the guy and see if he carried on talking.

'_Who the hell sent this guy on a spying mission anyone? He can't keep his mouth shut.'_

Because that's what the man was doing. Spying. He hadn't felt any intent to harm or attack from the man all day. Ever since he first noticed the man Gohan had been studying the man's Ki, trying to determine what his intentions were. But all he'd got was that the man was simply… watching.

"Soooo, what do you say? You don't have to worry about being friends with that Videl chick either. Once all this is done and her Dad is exposed as a liar and a fraud she won't be popular anymore and all her other friends will probably ditch her too. She'll be the daughter of the world's biggest liar after all."

Gohan growled. He was knocking this guy out. He reset his glare from earlier and took a few steps towards the man.

"Eh, is that look a no then? Was it something I said? Oh I know, you got a crush on that Videl chick don't ya"

Gohan stopped in his tracks. What had that man just said?

"Well it's not like I can't see why. Even if she is the daughter of that lousy lying doufus, she is still kind of pretty. For a kid anyway. But once you hear the truth I promise that crush of yours will disappear like that!" said the man happily whilst snapping his fingers to emphasize the last thing he said.

Suddenly Gohan was in front of him and the man took a step back.

"Wow, that was quick," said the man, clearly impressed. "You still don't believe me though, that's no good. Tell ya what. I'll knock you out and then take you back to see the boss man. He'll tell you the truth okay?"

The man took on a side on fighting pose.

"Trust me, you'll thank me later," said the man cheerily before striking Gohan with a powerful fist to the head.

But as the first hit, Gohan moved his head slightly forwards, bringing the fist into contact with his forehead rather than his face. He heard a satisfying crunch and the man yowled in pain, clutching his now broken hand.

"Duuuuude, what the fuck is you head man of," the man cried, abandoning his fighting pose to simply walk around in circles whilst mumbling "fuck, fuck, that really hurt, fuck!"

Gohan kept his glare on the man. Without warning the man suddenly darted out again, this time aiming a kick at the side of Gohan's head. The results were similar to the thirst time as the man clutching his now fractured foot.

"For fuck sake, seriously, what the hell man? Here I am trying to be all nice and help you by taking you to see the boss and this is how you fucking repay me," the man yelled, holding out his injured hand and pointing to his foot.

"You're the one hitting me," answered Gohan with a shrug.

The man snarled before holding his palm out facing flat towards Gohan again.

"You know what, fuck it. Take this!"

The man charged another Ki blast and fired it straight at Gohan. Who in turn simply deflected it back. It blasted the man off his feet, hurtling him back a good fifteen feet before landed with a thump.

Gohan casually walked over to the man and nudged him with his foot. The man groaned. Satisfied that he was still alive, Gohan pondered on what to do next. Should he just take him to the police? Or he could take him back to the Satan mansion. Videl would probably appreciate knowing that these guys were stalking her anyway. Satisfied with his choice, Gohan hauled the man back over his shoulder and made his way back to the mansion.

A mere three hundred yards away another masked figure hid from view. Just like the other man he wore blue clothes and a mask. Only his had a face on it. He raised a walkie-talkie to his mouth.

"Target confirmed. Looks like Peter's suspicions were correct."

**Next chapter, some interesting things going on. I've decided that these guys all need names because I'm fed up of referring to them as 'the one with the insane voice' or 'the one with the face'. So I decided that they would all be named appropriately. Peter may sound like a bit of a bland name but trust me there's a deeper meaning to it. Also the other guy who was still hidden at the end of the chapter does know how to hide his Ki. That's why he gets a mask with a face on it, and why he wasn't caught by Gohan. Well I can't update tomorrow. I'm spending the entire day at my aunts, then going to a ranch to be killed by my cousin's horses. They tell me we're going down there so I can ride the things. I'm pretty sure that they've just ran out of stuff to feed them. So if I don't update in Friday then I'm probably dead. It''l be a little inconvenient but don't worry I'll find a way to update eventually somehow. So in the mean time R&R, K. **


	15. A grain of Truth from the secret rice

**Guess what. Totally not dead. Horses are a breeze. And not one of the three people who almost died was me. Total success. Well I'm back with another shortish 3000 word chapter. Not much action but a lot of things are going to come to light. I'm sure there's lots of things I wanted to say but I've forgotten them. So let's just get on with the story. Remember that there'll probably be typo's. And I totally own Dragonball Z and all its characters. Not!**

Videl had seen the whole thing. From the window of her father's bedroom, overlooking the whole area in front. She'd stared through her binoculars she'd got from her room. She cried out Gohan's name when he took the blow to his head, then stared in confusion as the man who hit him hopped around clutching his hand, like he's the one who took the damage. She'd also seen the man's final act. He'd charged up a ball of light from his hand and fired it at Gohan. She'd been about to scream for Gohan to watch out. She could hardly believe it when Gohan batted it back with his hand. The man took the blast of light and was sent sailing through the air. She watched as Gohan nudged him, then slung the limp form of the man over his shoulder and was now making his way back to the house. Videl watched him make her way back towards the mansion. Instantly she dropped the binoculars and bolted back down the stairs.

"DAD!"

Her father reacted instantly, bursting into the hall as she made her way to the bottom of the stairs.

"What is it Videl! Are those blue guys back! Where are they?"

Her father had his fists raised and was looking around. Another door opened and Erasa and Sharpner came into the room to see what the screaming was about.

"Gohan got one," explained Videl quickly before running back to the door. She opened it and ran outside, followed by Hercule and her two friends. The first thing they saw was Gohan jumping over the gate, with a large blue bundle slung over his shoulder.

"Go get your handcuffs," Gohan told Videl, who nodded and ran inside. Hercule simply watched the boy as he walked past him into the house. He dropped the man in the middle of the hall and disappeared through a door. Half a minute later he returned with a kitchen chair. He picked the man back up and as Videl reappeared at the top of the stairs with the handcuffs.

"Where can we put him?" Gohan asked Hercule, who rubbed his chin in though.

"Just put him in the living room," answered the older man. Gohan nodded and carried both the older man and the chair into the room.

"Shouldn't we call the police?" asked Erasa, as Gohan disappeared into the room.

"Not yet!" Gohan shouted back.

Videl soon followed Gohan into the room, who had position the man into the chair. Gohan nodded to the handcuffs in Videl's hand. She nodded before handcuffing the man's hands. He wasn't exactly fixed in place but neither Gohan nor Videl doubted that the man could break the chair if he wanted to, so there was hardly a point handcuffing him to it.

"Erasa, Sharpner, I think you guys should wait outside," said Gohan. The two blonds looked at him funny.

"Why?" Sharpner asked.

Gohan left his mouth hanging open. How was he supposed to convince them without giving the real reason away.

"Because this guy's dangerous, and if he wants to escape you two would make the perfect hostages," answered Videl for him.

Sharpner began to protest but Videl cut him off.

"These guys are almost as strong as me. You don't stand a chance."

Sharpner closed his mouth and nodded, dragging Erasa out of the room with him.

"Videl, you might want to leave to," said Gohan, giving the girl a pleading look.

"Oh no," answered Videl, crossing her arms. "I don't know why you wanted those two to leave but you aren't getting rid of me."

Gohan frowned but said nothing. Instead he walked up to the man, pulled back his hood and took of the mask.

The face underneath was young, about twenty or so years old. Dirty blond hair fell about the man's face. Gohan took a single green bean from his pocket, which Videl recognized as a senzu bean. He popped it into the man's mouth, and he instantly woke up.

Hercule flinched back. The man blinked his eyes as he looked round the room. Eventually he seemed to recognize where he was a grinned.

"Wooow, the Champion himself. And are these handcuffs I feel on my wrists."

Videl approached the man.

"Alright bub, just who the hell are you and why are you targeting me and my father."

Normally when interrogating a gang member, they refuse to talk at first, or give cryptic answers that don't mean anything. Obviously this man didn't understand this.

"Oh, I'm Iscariot. Nice to meet you. And we're targeting your Dad because he lied to people, and we don't like him very much. Also because his afro's really stupid. I mean seriously, what kind of martial artist has an afro. It's just stupid."

The man smiled at Hercule who had his mouth hanging open. Then Iscariot turned to Gohan.

"Something tells me you already know Hercule's lying right. Some people think I'm stupid but I'm really really not. Those two blonds aren't here. And the police should already be on their way if you'd called them but I don't think you have. You're scared I'll tell them the truth."

Videl, turned to face Gohan, who remained silent. She turned back to the man.

"What do you mean. The truth?" she asked. But Hercule stepped forward.

"Don't even listen to him Videl. The man's mad. I ain't lied to nobody."

"You haven't even told your daughter. Wow man, that's low. Even lying to your daughter. Now I don't have no daughter, but if I did I don't think I'd lye to her."

Hercule glared at the man.

"I not a liar. I haven't lied to my daughter or anybody else. Now what the hell do you want you little shit!"

The man just grinned up at him.

"What we want Mr fro. It's what we want. And what we want is to learn real martial arts. Just like ages ago. Just like those guys in the Cell Games. You know those guys right?"

Videl levelled the man with a real glare.

"Those weren't martial artists. Those were tricksters," she growled. The man laughed in her face.

"Tricksters eh? Well what we figured is that you are mighty strong for your age. You're already as strong as your father. Now kids grow fast, but they don't grow that fast. So we figured that you were learning from one of those tricksters."

Videl quickly turned to face Gohan who shrugged.

"I don't know any of those tricksters," growled Videl. But the men chuckled.

"Of course you don't. Because those tricksters would honestly reveal themselves to the daughter of Hercule."

The man grinned at her. He seemed to be giggling under his breath like he was enjoying a private joke.

"That boy behind you. He related to whoever's teaching you?"

Videl looked at Gohan, who looked back at her with a blank face.

"What does that have to do with anything?"

The man's grin never faltered.

"Because he is definitely one of those tricksters."

"What!" barked Hercule, turning on Gohan. "You're one of _them!"_

Gohan frowned at the man.

"Shouldn't you be more focused on him," he said, nodding to Iscariot.

Hercule snarled at him

"Don't try to change the subject boy! I knew I shouldn't have trusted you. You conniving little brat, what the hell are you planning to do to my family!"

"Dad!" barked Videl, running up to her father's side. "Gohan's been helping us. So stop accusing him like you believe everything this guy says. Because if what he says is true then maybe what he said about you lying is true too."

But then Hercule turned on her.

"Yeah, well what about what he said about you having a trainer. I noticed that you've been gone every day after school and on weekends. Have you got a trainer other than me?"

Videl took a few steps back from her father, trying to stop the guilty look from appearing on her face. Hercule took her silence as a yes. Suddenly the angry look disappeared from his face to be replaced by one of sadness.

"How could you Videl. Why would you look for another teacher?"

Now it was Videl's turn to get angry. "Because you won't teach me a thing! And you know what, since I started training with Gohan I got a lot stronger really quickly!"

"Gohan," Hercule turned to face the boy in question. "You've been teaching my daughter!"

Gohan seemed stunned to silence for a bit before answering.

"Yes."

Suddenly a burst of laughter rang around the room.

"Man, I should let myself get caught more often. This is brilliant. All the secrets are coming out now!"

The man who was sat in the middle of the room burst into laughter again, bringing all attention in the room back to him.

"You know what, we're calling the police. They can take this freak of our hands. Videl, we'll talk about this later."

Hercule left the room, leaving Videl and Gohan alone with Iscariot. They were silent for a moment.

"Gohan, are you one of those fake fighters?"

Videl looked at Gohan through the corner of her eyes, willing him to say no. What she got was a very different answer.

"They're not fake."

"Of course they're not," said Iscariot from his chair. "After all I can do some of that stuff too. Nowhere near as good as the guy from the cell games. But that's why we want them to come back. If they come back, they can teach us all how to do it properly."

"Shut up," barked Videl, not taking her eyes off Gohan.

"Oh but can't you imagine it. If everyone knew what they could do was real, then everyone would want to do it. Imagine, learning to do everything they can do. Entire cities of people flying through the air. The police could get special training from them, so they're halfway competent. The human race, with every member having the power of a god. Don't you think it would be brilliant?"

"Humans can't fly," Videl answered before turning back to Gohan. "What do you mean they're not fake?"

Gohan seemed to take a deep breath. "I mean that the people from the cell games, what they can do aren't tricks. They're real martial arts."

"Yeah, and soon everyone will be learning to do those things," said Iscariot. But Gohan shot him a glare.

"No they won't. You think we'd teach a criminal like you. If we taught everyone how to fight like that it wouldn't take long before criminals were using it to slaughter people. All it would take is for one person to go mad with power and an entire city full of people could disappear."

"So you are one of them then?" asked Videl. She didn't know why but she felt like crying. Like she'd been betrayed. "One of those frauds?"

"You don't get it missy. They're not the frauds. You're father is."

Videl turned on the Iscariot, glaring at him with tearful eyes.

"How the hell is my father a fraud?"

The man smiled at her.

"Think about it. Cell could defeat entire armies. Destroy full sets of tanks and kill millions of people in general. You think he could manage all of that with tricks. No way. So here's the kicker. How the hell can someone like Hercule, who's the weakest champion I've ever seen by the way, beat Cell. Answer he can't. But those other guys could."

"Oh right, because you were there and you saw Cell die?" Videl said sarcastically.

"No I didn't. I'm just not stupid enough to instantly believe that a moron like Hercule is capable of killing monster like that. And the boss man. He's so strong it's surreal. But even he says that he's nothing compared to those fighters at the cell game. But look if you're still doubting I can show you."

"Eh," said Videl, slightly taken aback by the man's choice of words.

"Sure, just give us a sec."

Suddenly the man began to pull his arms apart. There was a snapping sound as the chains of her cuffs broke.

"Not again," groaned Videl.

"Much better," commented the man. Gohan stepped forwards, ready to fight the man a second time.

"Wow there stood, calm down. It's part of the plan for me to get caught by the police anyway. That's why I'm Iscariot. Plus there's no way I'd escape that kid anyway."

Both Gohan and Videl tilted there's heads. Neither of them really got it.

"Well I don't know how to fly, even the leader can't do that. But I can blast stuff."

He held a palm out to the side. Videl watched in fascination as a yellow orb of Ki appeared. Then he let it fly. It slammed into the wall where a small explosion occurred. Videl covered her face to protect it from the smoke. When it cleared there was a burnt hole in the wall paper and a large hole in the wall which didn't quite go all the way through.

"Yeah I'm not that good at it. You should see Pete though. He's the guy who attacked you yesterday. You know the one you didn't knock out. When he does it he can literally blow up a tree."

The man seemed quite happy with the shocked expression on Videl's face.

"But that kid there, he's really good. I've never seen anyone knock it back before. I mean I know you could catch it. But wow, you just keep teaching me new stuff."

Videl glanced at Gohan from the corner of her eye. She'd seen Gohan knock that thing back earlier through the binoculars. And whether or not it was a trick it was fucking effective.

"See, totally real. Smoke and mirrors doesn't blow stuff up."

"WHAT THE HELLS GOING ON!" barked Hercule, breaking into the room. He saw the man standing, his cuffs broken.

"You bastard get back in the chair!"

Hercule pulled back a punch and then shot forwards ready to deck the man. But Iscariot grinned. He dodged the punch then threw a punch of his own. He caught Hercule on his cheek, causing Hercule to fall to the floor.

"I don't know why but I feel really good. Like all the injuries and exhaustion I've had to experience over the past few days is all gone."

Hercule rubbed his cheek a little then stood back up.

"If you don't give up and sit your ass back down I swear to god I am going to kill you," growled the champ.

"Alright, alright I'll sit," said Iscariot, holding his hands up in an 'I give up' gesture. He sat back down on his chair and smiled at them all.

Hercule grunted. "Right, the police will be here any minute. And it doesn't matter what lies you tell them, they won't believe you."

The man grinned.

"No they won't. That's the annoying thing about police. They just don't do anything."

Hercule grunts. Then he turns to Gohan.

"And you. You're leaving and you're never seeing my daughter again. Go to a different school boy. Leave my family alone."

"Yeah, do that. It'll make our job a lot easier," said Iscariot.

"Dad, I don't want Gohan to go. I still got a lot of questions to ask him."

Hercule snarled down at her.

"Oh don't think I forgot about you. Gallivanting around with this brat. Training my ass, the only man fit to train you is me. Weak little brats like this are no good."

"But I beat you," said Gohan, looking at Hercule with an emotion that Videl had never seen on his face before. Gohan almost looked… angry. As stupid as it sounded she'd started to think Gohan couldn't actually get angry.

"Hardly, I was taking it easy on you," said Hercule, crossing his arms and doing his best to intimidate Gohan. It wasn't working.

"Then let's fight again. If I win I things carry on as they were. If you win I'll leave and I'll never come back."

Normally Gohan probably would have done as Hercule said and just left. But right now there was a group targeting Hercule and Videl because of the Lie Hercule told. And right now Videl was his closest friend. There was no way he was going to let anything happen to her.

"Oh I see how it is. The Champions injured, so maybe I'll have a chance. Is that what you're thinking."

For his answer, Gohan threw something. It flew straight down Hercules throat. The man coughed and spluttered and then finally swallowed. Suddenly he felt a lot better.

"That was a senzu bean. My last one too. It completely heals all injuries and brings back all your stamina."

"So that's why I feel so good," said Iscariot. The whole room turned to glare at him.

"Opps. Sorry, never mind me. Fight, wohoo go!"

Hercule turned to Gohan.

"Fine Kid, you got yourself a deal. But none of your tricks. Fight fair and square."

Gohan nodded and took a stance.

"let's say first one to knock the other to the floor wins."

Hercule nodded. "Sounds good Kid. Now get ready because this is going to hurt."

**I'll leave it there for now. Look at all the questions that were answered. Well next chapter Hercule fights Gohan. For real this time. Will Videl realize the truth? Will Hercule ever win a fight in this fic? All these answers and more, at some point. Not sure when. But I'll tell you all this. I'm bringing back some old conditions. 13 reviews equals one new chapter. Okay then, see you guys next time. XD**


	16. Spilling the Rice

**Seriously, Fifty three reviews for the last chapter. Honestly I actually cried, just a little. You guys do know that I'm going to want to recreate that every single chapter right? A-man you said that putting the review barrier on was petty. For the most part I agree with you. But I didn't do it to be petty. If you had an account I'd just Pm you why I did it, but I'm not going to write it here cuz I really can't be bothered. It's a long and dull and evidently pointless reason. I'm not going to bother with it again. Ever. So without further ado, chapter 16, typo's and all. I don't own dragonball Z.**

Hercule knew the Kid in front of him was pretty strong. Strong enough to throw him across the room, and there weren't many fighters he knew who could do that. But last time he'd underestimated him. And he'd just agreed not to do any tricks. So as long as he doesn't turn invisible or fire magical cannons like the cell game fighters, then theoretically he should be fine. Besides he was just a kid, how tough can he be?

Hercule Shot forward and aimed a punch at Gohan. But Gohan moved quicker than Hercule could have imagined. Though he made a point of not moving at an inhumane speed. He moved past Hercules fist and lashed out with his legs, trying to trip Hercule. Hercules leg was taken from under him causing him to nearly lose balance and hop around on one leg for a few seconds. But after a few seconds he recovered.

'Huh, trying to make me trip huh. Well it is first to fall to the floor loses. But luckily I have lots of experience tripping over so he'll never beat me like that.'

Hercule quickly turned and went to hit Gohan again, full force this time.

"DYNAMIC PUNCH!"

The punch shot forward but Gohan jumped, landing on Hercules outstretched hand. The Hand quickly fell under Gohan's weight as Hercule cried out.

'What the hell, felt like a car just landed on my hand, not a kid. He's way heavier than he looks."

What Hercule didn't know is that Gohan always wore weighted clothing, in an effort to make up for the little time he had to train.

"Alright Kid, time to end this," roared Hercule proudly. Gohan nodded. Hercule went on the offence, trying to sweep Gohan's feet, followed by a high kick, Low kick, spinning back hand and ending in his Vulcan punch. But Gohan dodged all of it. After just two minutes of trying to hit the Kid, Hercule found himself out of breath.

"Hey, anyone vide taping this? I mean come on, the champ getting worked over by a kid. This is awesome!"

Iscariot seemed happy from his front row seat. Neither fighter had opted to leave the living room, instead deciding to duke it out right there and then. And throughout the entire thing Videl was having trouble thinking.

'Father took the senzu bean. He should be at full strength. So why does he seem so… slow?'

There was no denying it. Compared to Gohan her father was too slow. And the worst bit was knowing that Gohan could move a lot faster, even under two times Earths normal gravity. She'd experienced his speed first hand so it wasn't hard to realize that Gohan was holding back.

Hercule was panting heavily, eying the brat in front who hadn't even broken a sweat. Gohan looked back at the tired Hercule with a glare in his eyes. He hadn't let Hercule hit him at all. After all he'd ran out of senzu beans so if Hercule broke his hand hitting him, and clarity managed to get to him again then he'd be screwed. So eyeing the desperately panting Hercule in front of him he knew this was the perfect time to go on the offensive.

He shot forwards, just quick enough for Hercule to see. Hercule tried to counter by punching forwards but as Gohan met his fist he spun, dodging round the punch and delivering a pretty decent kick to the back of Hercule's knee, causing the older man to buckle. But Hercule stayed standing much to Gohan's surprise.

"Wow, looks like afro man's more stubborn than we gave him credit for."

Iscariot was clapping and cheering as he watched the fight, much to the annoyance of Videl, who was starting to think there might be some truth in Iscariot's words. After all her father couldn't even beat Gohan from the looks of it, never mind Cell.

Gohan leapt over Hercules head as the champ aimed another punch at Gohan's head. Doing his best not severely injure the man, Gohan aimed a kick at the man's back. Hercules body shot forwards, but he put a leg out and stopped himself from falling.

"Guess you're not the champ for nothing," thought Gohan, actually impressed by Hercule's perseverance. "But you can't beat me Mr Satan and you know it. Let's just stop here."

Hercule grunted before standing back up to his full height and turning to glare at Gohan. Sweat was pouring down his face and his chest was quickly heaving in and out. He looked like he'd just run four marathons, not fought a kid for a few minutes.

"No way. I'm… not letting… a little.. Freak… like you… near my… daughter."

Gohan shuck his head.

"Mr Satan, I'm your best chance at getting through this. Getting rid of me will only put you and Videl in more danger."

But Hercule wasn't listening.

"Shut up!" he roared before blasting forwards. He put all his strength forward and aimed a powerful punch at Gohan. But for all the power Gohan just side stepped and Hercule ran flat out into a wall. He rammed against it, using the wall as support so he didn't fall.

"Sorry Mr Satan, but I'm ending this now, before you hurt yourself."

As Hercule turned round, ready to try his luck again, Gohan appeared in front of him and delivered a solid punch to Hercules stomach. Videl's eyes widened as she watched what she knew was her father's loss. His head bent low, parallel with Gohan's head. He fell to his knees and his shoulders slumped. He was barely hanging on to consciousness, the only thing keeping him up right now being the fist planted in his stomach.

Gohan turned his head so he could whisper into Hercule's ear. He didn't like hurting Hercule, no matter how annoying he was.

"I'm sorry for doing this Mr Satan, but I didn't see any other option," he whispered, although Hercule seemed to be beyond answering. He did hear though, but his vision was getting blurry.

"Mr Satan, you might not recognize me, and also please don't tell this to Videl, but I'm the same Kid from the Cell games. The same Kid who beat Cell."

Hercule's eyes seemed to widen as he realized exactly who he'd just fought. Suddenly he felt grateful that he was only fading into unconsciousness instead of being flat out killed.

"And that's why I promise that I will protect both you and your daughter."

Hercule did try to say something. His mouth opened but no words came out. Instead he simply slumped backwards, away from Gohan's fist. Then he slid down the wall until he was lying on his side.

"Dad!" shouted Videl running over to her father. She grabbed his arms and tried shaking him awake.

"Now that was a fight!" Iscariot cheered, though both Gohan and Videl ignored him.

"Gohan, what did you do to him!" she screamed, causing Gohan to flinch back.

"Calm down Videl. Mr Satan will be fine," he said, trying to console the hectic girl. "Although, admittedly it might not have been the best idea to knock him out with the police coming. It would probably have been a better idea to just throw him. But at least this way he'll have a chance to calm down once he wakes up."

Videl glared up at him with tearful eyes. But they weren't angry. A little sad maybe, but the emotion that was most evident was how confused she was by everything she'd just seen.

"Gohan," she said, still kneeling next to her Dad's still form. "Tell me, if you know the answer. Did my Dad really defeat Cell?"

It was the question that was held firmly in her head. And looking down into her large blue eyes, watching the tears fall down her face, Gohan felt himself very hesitant to answer. The truth would hurt her. He knew that, and for that reason he really didn't want to say. But at the same time he couldn't lie to her. He'd never been a good liar anyway. But seeing her like that, looking up to him with that look of despair, as if pleading him to tell her it wasn't true, that her father was everything he claimed to be. But the fact of the matter is he wasn't, and Gohan couldn't bring himself to lie to her.

"He… didn't," said Gohan eventually. He dropped his gaze from her face. He didn't want to see what kind of expression she made.

"I shouldn't have brought him here," said Gohan, looking at the grinning Iscariot through the corner of his eyes. "I should have realised this would happen from the start."

Gohan could hear Sirens outside. The police were here. Quickly he opened the door and called in Erasa and Sharpner. Except they were both there, having had their ears pressed to the door trying to listen in. Gohan frowned. He doubted either of them had heard what he'd said. He'd been speaking pretty quietly after all.

"Help Videl take her dad upstairs," he told them. "I'll handle the police."

He headed back into the room and quickly walked up to Iscariot, who was grinning like a maniac.

"Well that was entertaining. It's just a shame I didn't have any popcorn. I swear that was-."

But Gohan wasn't in the mood. Faster than the eye could see he landed a blow to the man's neck rendering him unconscious. He slumped Iscariot's limp form over his shoulder and headed for the door, ready to deal with the police.

Gohan and Videl watched the police cars leave. Gohan had described, in minor detail how he had caught the Clarity member snooping outside the Satan mansion. There wasn't much forensics could do, although questions were brought up on unlawful detainment, Gohan pointed out that the man was simply unconscious, and was at no point held there against his will (Technically a lie, but the man hadn't tried very hard to escape and the remains of the handcuffs had been removed before he'd been handed over), but rather had been kept there till he regained consciousness. The police did request a statement from Mr Satan, but Videl told them that he was still recovering from yesterday's injuries, and was currently not to be disturbed. The police agreed to come back the next day for the statement. Videl was more worried about how they'd get past all of the reporters who would undoubtedly show up once they'd heard about the arrest. So with nothing left to do, both teens headed back into the mansion.

Videl had stopped crying, but ever since the fiasco in the living room, she'd been unable to look Gohan in the eye. Similarly Gohan had been unable to look at Videl in the eye. So the two simply stood in the hallway in an awkward silence. Cari had prepared an evening meal for Sharpner and Erasa and requested that Gohan and Videl join them when they were ready. However considering all that just transpired Gohan decided that wasn't a great idea.

"I think I'll leave," he said. He looked at Videl through the corner of his eyes. She was staring at the floor, her eyes hidden beneath her hair, which had fallen forwards to shield them from view. He tore his eyes away from her and began to walk away.

Only he couldn't. He felt a slight tug at his hoody and looked down at his arm. Videl had grabbed a bit of his hoody just above his elbow between her thumb and index finger.

"Don't go."

Gohan froze. It was kind of funny how effective two words could be. Gohan often heard from his mother that three little words could change his life. He had no idea what those words were, but if two words could do this to him, he didn't want to know what three could so.

For the month that he'd known Videl she's always seemed so strong and stubborn. She obviously had her own problems, judging by what happened yesterday. But now she sounded… vulnerable. It was strange but for some reason he felt an incredible urge to hug her. He shook his head, quickly discarding the thought. She'd probably slap him again if he tried hugging her.

"Okay," he answered. He was expecting Videl to let go off his hoody now. She didn't, and this left Gohan feeling rather awkward as of what to do.

"I… hated it."

Gohan's ears perked up when Videl spoke. He tilted his head to look at her but he didn't speak.

"When my Dad won the championship I was happy. But then he started changing. And then when he beat Cell, it's like my Dad was gone. I felt like all the publicity and all the woman, they meant more to him than I did. And now I find out that he's not even the one who beat cell."

Well that had done it. Videl was crying again. Soft quiet tears that ran down her face and splattered to the floor. Gohan left his mouth hanging open, having no idea what he was supposed to do or say. Eventually he just rolled with his instincts and did what he'd been so hesitant to do a minute ago. He put an arm around her shoulder and kind of awkwardly hugged her with one arm. He tried making the shushing noise that his mom made when he was upset. He'd always found that comforting. But over tan that he wasn't sure what to do. So he was taken completely by surprise when Videl turned into him, grabbed two handfuls of his shirt from beneath his open hoody and bawled her eyes out into his chest.

Gohan entered the dining room to the stares of Erasa and Sharpner. Both had finished their food and both had been waiting for Gohan and Videl to join them, at Cari's insistence. Cari himself gave Gohan a knowing glance before offering him a chair. Gohan sat and Cari went to fetch him one of the many courses he'd prepared.

"Dude, where's Videl?" asked Sharpner.

"She's sleeping. Apparently someone didn't let her get any sleep last night," he said, giving Erasa a glance. Mentally he was congratulating himself. That had to be the best lie/excuse he'd ever told. In reality Videl had cried herself to sleep, so he'd carried her upstairs and put her in her bed. Fully clothed of course.

"Why's your shirt all wet?" asked Erasa.

'Ah, knew I was forgetting something.'

"Erm, I spilt… something," answered Gohan, he's cheeks going red due to the obviousness of his lie. He didn't want to tell them Videl had been crying. Because then he'd have to tell them why Videl had been crying, and he wasn't sure if she'd appreciate that.

"Well if Videl's asleep then maybe we should get going," said Sharpner, pushing back his chair.

"Just a moment sir."

It was Cari, coming in with Gohan's first course. He laid three large platters in front of him, revealing a full roast turkey, with platters of pretty much everything else you could ever hope to find that goes along with it.

"It is my understanding that your school term is over for the next two weeks now. Perhaps you could all spend the night here. I think it would help to relieve some of the stress that Mrs Videl is feeling if she knows that her friends are here for her."

The three teens stared at him, including Gohan who found he didn't have much of an appetite.

"You want us to stay over?" Sharpner clarified.

"I'm sure Miss Videl would appreciate it."

"… I need to call my mom."

Gohan felt rather uncomfortable leaving the Satan family on their own right now anyway.

"Of course sir. You will find the phone. You will find the phone in the study. It's the door just left of the living room."

Gohan nodded his thanks before getting up to go find the phone.

Convincing his mom to let him stay at the Satan manor had been no easy task. He'd eventually managed to convince her by pointing out that his friend was in danger, so just like his Dad had taught him, he'd protect her. Apparently that had been enough to get his mother reminiscing about his father and grant him permission.

"So you guys staying too then?" he asked the two blonds.

"Of course silly," answered Erasa with a giggle. Besides the second Videl wakes up tomorrow I got a lot of questions to ask her."

"Yeah, and there's no way I'd willingly miss out on staying at the Satan's mansion. My Hero lives here," said Sharpner with a grin.

"Then if you three will follow me, I shall show you to your rooms."

And that's what Cari did. He placed the three friends in separate rooms. In the guest hall. The last to be shown their room was Gohan.

"And this is where you shall sleep sir," said Cari, opening the door to show Gohan the room. It had a large bed in the centre, its own toilet and a large TV on the wall.

"Sir may I make a request," said Cari as soon as Gohan had stepped into the room. Gohan spun on his soles.

"Sure."

Cari gave him a smile.

"I have been looking after the young miss since she was born you see. Her mother died when she was young. Cancer, such a terrible thing. Her father threw himself into martial arts, constantly working to try and forget. However this left Miss Videl alone to deal with her grief."

Cari's smile turned rather sad.

"The last few weeks, Miss Videl has seemed so lively. I mean she's always been lively of course, but she seems… happier. Happier than I have seen her in many years. And although I realise that today has been a trying day for her, discovering the truth of her father and everything-,"

"Wait a second," said Gohan, cutting him off. "You know the truth about Hercule."

The man smiled. "But of course. It does not take a genius to figure out the truth. Especially not if you spend all of your time around the man. Hercule does not act like a man who enjoys his victory, only like one who enjoys his fame. He was much more serious about martial arts before he defeated Cell."

"Oh… okay."

Cari smiled before continuing.

"Yes, the point I am trying to make, is that I would like to request that you stay friends with Videl, regardless of what her father says. I think that the next few days will reveal many truths to Miss Videl. And I think it will be imperative that she has someone to turn to."

Cari smiled at him again, and Gohan was having difficulty processing everything that was being asked of him.

"Well I have no intention of abandoning Videl," said Gohan. "I mean I just fought Hercule so I wouldn't have to."

Cari nodded in acknowledgment and took a step out of the room.

"Very good sir. And thank you."

Cari closed the door carefully behind him, leaving Gohan to get ready for bed. He'd been given Pyjama's, which were oddly the perfect fit. He slipped into them and got ready for bed. He was asleep within the hour.

"Gohan…,"

"Nuh?"

"Gohan, wake up."

"Wha…?"

"WAKE UP GOHAN!"

Gohan shot awake, blinking rapidly around the darkened room. Finally remembering where he was he noticed two pools of blue staring at him though the darkness.

"Videl?" he asked with uncertainty.

There was a click and a lamp turned on, revealing Videl who was still wearing her clothes from earlier.

"Videl, what is it?"

Videl seemed unsure what to say.

"Erm, could you please not tell anyone about earlier."

"Earlier?" questioned Gohan, not sure what she was saying.

"You know, when I.. was crying."

"Oh right. Yeah, I won't tell anyone."

Videl gave a small smile.

"Good. Erm, Gohan. Could you tell me… If my father didn't defeat Cell then who did?"

Gohan directly into her eyes. She was kneeling on his bed and her face was quite close. He'd never noticed her up close before. He couldn't help but think that she was quite… pretty.

"Erm… well there were a lot of people Videl."

She frowned. "A lot of people."

Gohan nodded his head.

"Your father… he didn't defeat Cell. But that doesn't mean that he didn't save the world. But there were a lot of people there who helped to. If your father wasn't there… if my father wasn't there… if Vegeta wasn't there… then we probably wouldn't be able to have this conversation."

He smiled at her.

"That's why, we had no problem with your father taking the credit for it."

"We had no… Gohan, were you there too?"

Gohan faltered. What the hell does he say no.

Videl put on a frown and a small glare.

"Gohan, what are you not telling me?"

"I… I just said. My Dad was there. And if you remember Piccolo and Vegeta from the party…"

Videl could remember. She remembered everyone at the party being hostile to her father's name. And Vegeta with his stupid hair, and Piccolo that huge green guy. They looked really familiar too.

"They were at the Cell games," Videl whispered to herself in realization. She looked at Gohan and now he was starting to look familiar too.

"And, there was a boy. A boy who could only be eleven or twelve years old. Which means now he would be about thirteen."

The colour drained from Gohan's face. He knew she was smart but this was ridiculous. One wrong word every now and then and it's like she could figure out entire chapters of his life.

"You were the little boy... but your hair was blond."

Gohan looked away from her, not trusting himself to deny it if he was looking into her eyes.

"So does that mean you can fly?"

Gohan whipped his head back around to her.

"Eh?"

"Can you fly?"

Videl's face was serious.

"Erm, yeah I can fly."

The corner of Videl's lips lifted up a bit.

"Can you… teach me how to fly?"

Gohan was kind of in shock right now.

"Umm, sure."

Now Videl's face lit up in a bright smile. She gave a small giggle then rolled over onto her back so she was lying down next to him.

Gohan looked down at her with surprise in his eyes. She looked up at him and smiled.

"There was always a little bit of me that doubted him you know. Ike there was just something that didn't add up. And then, it was like he was milking it. He stopped paying attention to me. I hardly ever saw him in the mornings, and when I did see him he was never training. He was just sitting in his chair watching videos of his old fights. He always said that he was researching the other fighting styles, to stay at the top of the game. But now I think he was just trying to reassure himself. That he was the champion."

Gohan didn't say anything, just looked down at her. He was starting to think back to what Iscariot said.

"_Oh I know, you got a crush on that Videl chick don't ya."_

Could he have been right? Because right now she was looking a lot cuter than she usually did.

"Sometimes, I just wanted to get away from it all. Just fly away up into the clouds where no one can bother me." She grinned at him. "And now I can."

Gohan couldn't help but smile back at her.

"Yeah, I suppose you can."

**Well it was bound to happen eventually. Videl knows a good chunk of the truth. I wonder how long till she remembers that Goku supposedly died in a bombing. Well I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. If not then tell me why. Also, if you guys can beat the amount of reviews from last chapter I will post a video of me dancing up and down the stairs on Youtube, since I am sure I will end up doing it if you guys can actually beat 53. I'll even put up a link. **


	17. Humiliating me and Heart felt rice

**Right, so 87 reviews. Where do I even go from there? Well as agreed I danced up the stairs. I'd appreciate it if you guys didn't watch it, but if you do I hope you're thoroughly disappointed. **

**for some reason putting a link in the story won't work so I've put it on my profile. Hope fully it should work there.**

**Well then Kyle, you asked if 17 is going to ****have an actual role since he hasn't done much yet. My answer is wait and see. Also, I assume it's the same guest who keeps asking this, but no I'm not updating twice a day. In fact I won't be updating tomorrow either, because I won't be able to access a laptop. Well that's everything for now. I own all rights to dragon ball Z/Gt and everything else. The reason I believe this to be true has nothing at all to do with a bump to the head I recently suffered.**

"So Videl, what were you doing in Gohan's room?" asked a giggling Erasa.

Videl blushed. It was lucky her father still wasn't up yet. She'd never be able to shut him up if he had.

"I wasn't doing anything. I just wanted to ask him stuff. And I was really tired and kind of ended up falling asleep."

Erasa had caught her leaving Gohan's room this morning. That could never be a good thing.

"Of course you didn't do anything," said Erasa with a glint in her eye that Videl really didn't like. "Gohan's way too naïve for something like that. But that doesn't mean you didn't want anything to happen right?"

Videl blushed furiously. Of course Videl had already given Erasa the biggest possible piece of ammo she could ever give. The knowledge of her possible crush on Gohan. And what's more he even fit her father's 'no dating guys who aren't stronger than me,' rule. So how can she convincingly convince Erasa that she had no such intentions when going into Gohan's room? Answer, she couldn't, even if Erasa didn't know about her crush.

"Look Erasa, I just wanted to ask him some stuff, that's all. I had no intention of doing anything to Gohan."

"Okay," said Erasa, not dropping her smile. "So did you want to talk about you 'private training sessions'?"

Erasa spoke the last three words as if there was a lot more to them than simple martial arts training.

"Okay first, it's just martial arts training, not what your implying. Second, how do you even know about that?" asked Videl, trying to hide her blush.

Erasa giggled. "Sharpner and I heard your Dad shouting about it through the door."

Videl looked a little miffed but didn't say anything about her friends eavesdropping.

"Whatever, but all we're doing is training. That's it," said Videl, levelling a pointed glare at her giggling fiend.

"Well if that's the case then you're just going to have to change it," said Erasa, catching Videl with a look that made her squirm.

"W-what do you mean by that?" asked Videl, really not liking the sound of.

"Well you know. Two sweaty teens sparring or whatever you call it. All it takes is for one of you to trip and you could be left in a very embarrassing position."

"… I don't get it."

Erasa huffed.

"What, do I have to spell it out for you? You have to get up close if you're sparring right, take advantage of that."

"Erasa, we don't do any sparring. The closest we get to that is where I'm trying to dodge his punches, and trust me, if I try anything funny in that I'm going to get seriously hurt."

Erasa crossed her arms and pouted.

"Well you should at least try."

"Try what?"

Sharpner had just walked into the dining room, with a yawning Gohan walking right behind him.

"That's got to be the first time I've ever slept in," said Gohan, joining the two girls at the table. Sharpner sat down opposite him.

"This is hardly sleeping in. It's only eight o'clock," he said. Then the two boys became aware of a new presence that seemed to material beside them.

"Good morning sir's," said Cari, offering both of them a nod and a smile. "Is there anything you would like to request for Breakfast this morning?"

Sharpner nodded. "Yeah, could I have pancake stacks please?" asked Sharpner, not even giving the butler a second glance.

"What are pancakes?" asked Gohan, having little to no knowledge of food he couldn't catch and give to his mother to cook.

"You had them yesterday morning sir, you commented that your favourite topping was the chocolate source mixed with a combination strawberries and whipped cream."

"Oh yeah," said Gohan smiling sweetly at the memory. "Could I have two hundred of those please?"

Cari bowed. "Of course sir."

Then he disappeared into the kitchen to cook the requested meals. Sharpner and Erasa were both used to Gohan's inhuman appetite, but even so they were still surprised that he'd actually ask for that amount of food, and what's more the butler didn't seem surprised at all. In fact he'd smiled at the order.

Once they'd gotten over the initial shock they decided that they shouldn't be surprised. There wasn't much about Gohan that made sense after all so they might as well accept that.

"So are you two doing you secret training today?" asked Erasa, giving the two of them a smirk.

Videl looked at Gohan, waiting to see what his reaction was. If he was surprised that they knew about her training he didn't show it.

"Yeah, we'll head out in a few hours. I was hoping to speak to Mr Satan before we left, but if he's not up before we leave I'll just speak to him later."

Erasa was about to ask what the special training was but Cari reappeared. He put a platter of six pancakes in front of Sharpner and then a second platter of fifty in front of Gohan.

"The rest shall be done shortly," he told Gohan before returning to the Kitchen to make the rest of the pancakes.

Erasa knew she wouldn't get much out of Gohan while he was eating, so she decided to ask Videl.

"So what do you guys do in your special training?"

Videl considered how she should answer. Today was her dodging practice. But Gohan said he'd used up all the senzu beans yesterday so maybe they'd do something different. So Videl decided that her best reaction would be too shrug and feign ignorance.

"I Dunno, ask Gohan."

Erasa turned to the young Saiyan who had already downed the first twenty pancakes.

"Somehow, I don't think he'll answer me," she told Videl, watching the Boy demolish the pancakes in front of him. "So, did you hear about Craig and Michelyn at school?"

Eventually, Gohan did finish all of his pancakes. All two hundred of them. He sat there contently patting his belly.

"That was good," he said happily. "You ready to go Videl?"

She nodded, getting up from her seat.

"Hey wait," said Sharpner, causing the two teens to stop in their tracks. "Can we come with you?"

To Videl's surprise Gohan nodded.

"Sure. Actually you two can help out today."

Videl felt her jaw go slack. What the hell could she be doing that it would require the help of the two blonds?

She was soon given her answer.

To Videl's surprise Gohan did not take them to capsule Corp. rather he didn't take them very far from her House at all. In fact he only took her to the open field surrounding it.

"Okay Videl wear this blind fold," he said, giving her the piece of blank cloth.

Slightly baffled, Videl did as she was told, wrapping the piece of cloth tightly around her head. To her surprise it completely blocked out all sunlight, and left her totally blind.

"You've probably seen training like this in movies and stuff," said Gohan. "But this is going to be a little bit different."

He walked up to Erasa and Sharpner and threw two capsules to the ground in front of them. To their surprise two bags of tennis balls appeared in front of them.

"Okay you two. Your job is to run around and throw these balls at Videl. Make as much noise as you can," He told them. "But don't get more than about ten metres from Videl."

Then he returned to Videl.

"Okay, you're going to be trying to catch Erasa and Sharpner with the blind fold on. They'll be staying near you. We'll be doing this for an hour."

He pulled out the stop watch he'd had when they first met.

"Okay guys, you all ready? Then go!"

Erasa and Sharpner quickly advance on Videl, pelting Tennis balls at her, causing her to scream a little in Panic since the wasn't aware there's be tennis balls. Gohan smirked as he watched the three friends play his little warm up game.

"I can't believe you caught us both," said Sharpner panting hard and sitting on the floor.

"Yeah Videl, you're great." Said Erasa equally as tired.

Videl in comparison to the two was barely sweating. Now rid of the blindfold she gave the two a victorious smirk before turning to look at the smiling Gohan next to her.

"That's got to be the easiest training you've ever put me through," she declared, although she was still happy that she'd actually succeeded in one of Gohan's training courses for once.

"And yet I can guarantee that neither Sharpner nor Erasa could do it," said Gohan, looking at his two fallen friends. "You're ability to anticipate you're opponents movement has really improved. Nice job Videl."

Videl was practically glowing with pride. But that was quickly shot down with Gohan's next statement.

"Well now that the warm-ups over, we can start the real training," he said happily. Then he went and stood in the middle of the field.

He took out his stop watch again and threw it to Erasa, who caught it.

"Could you time us please?" he asked her. Erasa nodded. Then Gohan turned his smile on Videl.

"You have three hours," he told her. "Try and hit me."

Videl found herself absolutely shocked. Was Gohan asking her to spar with him for her training? It was Erasa who broke her out of her stupor.

"Go get him girl," she whispered, before breaking out into a small fit of giggles, although Sharpner threw her an annoyed glance.

Videl didn't both to reply, knowing exactly what she meant by 'Go get him'. There was no way she was doing that. So instead she just casually approached Gohan before taking his stance. He however just put his hands in his pockets.

"I won't fight back and I won't dodge either," he told her. Then he called over to Erasa and shouted "Start the timer!"

"Righto," she shouted back before pressing the button and shouting "Go!"

Videl wasted no time before leaping forward. She'd teach him to underestimate her and not even take a stance. She shot her hand forward aiming straight for his head. He just moved it to the left, avoided her punch by less than an inch. She followed up with a spinning back hand, but Gohan bent his legs and leant back a little, allowing the blow to skim past his nose. Videl continued her spin, aiming a kick at him next. This time Gohan fully ducked the blow, leading Videl to believe she finally had him. She bounded forward aiming to tackle Gohan while he was still in an awkward position. However Gohan leaped straight up and over her head, landing on his feet behind her. Videl wasted no time turning round to attack him while his back was still turned but he side stepped out the way, turning to face her at the same time. Videl continued trying to punch and kick him, continuing to try and approach him by constantly stepping forward. Gohan continued backing up whilst dodging each blow by the nearest of margins. The smile never left his face.

"He's enjoying this," Videl realised. And that realization just made her angrier and her attacks began getting more violent. But no matter what she tried over the next two hours, she just couldn't touch him.

Erasa and Sharpner had been stunned into Silence by the spectacle in front of them neither could take their eyes away from the two, and even after two and a half hours neither of them had moved a inch from where they sat.

"They're amazing," said Sharpner, holding in a breath. "Videl's attacks are so fast I can barely keep up with them. And Brains is just mind blowing. She can't even touch him."

He'd always known that Gohan outclassed Vide, but it wasn't until now that he realised by how much. And yet he was also forced to conclude that Videl was at least several times stronger and faster than he was.

Videl was practically dying of exhaustion. She knew she was running out of time and so far Gohan still hadn't taken his hands out his pockets. It really irked her that even after a month of training she was still nowhere near his level. Of course she'd seen what he'd done to her father. She'd even realised he was taking it easy on him, trying not to hurt her father too badly. The fight had also led her to the conclusion that she was at least as strong as her father was, if not stronger. But even so, after near three hours of trying to hit Gohan, she was about to collapse and he wasn't even out of breath. He just carried on smiling. So she pushed herself further. She could feel her body screaming in protest, the weight of her wristbands finally sinking in.

'If only I could take these things off,' she thought to herself. She barely noticed them anymore, but as at the end of a long workout she would become aware of them as there weight became apparent.

"Okay guys, that's time," shouted Erasa, holding the watch in the air. In reality the three hours had ended five minutes ago, but she'd been too into the session to notice.

Videl, hearing her friends call sank to her knee's in defeat.

"It's not fair," she muttered. "These things slow me down."

Well she was being a sore loser but at least she'd stopped crying. Normally she'd cry if she lost. To her surprise Gohan stood in front of her. He rolled up the sleeve of his hoody and revealed a wristband just like hers. Only his was red and looked a lot thicker.

'He's wearing weighted clothes too,' she realized.

Gohan removed the red band and dropped it to the floor with a heavy food.

"Pick it up," he said in a cheery voice.

Videl furrowed her brow and did so.

"What the hell," she gasped. She couldn't lift the finger. She could just about get her fingers underneath it.

"How much does that weigh?" she asked looking up at him. He smiled back down at her and answered.

"Three hundred ibs," he told her.

Videl couldn't help gasping out loud.

"Have you been wearing those things all this time?" she asked, completely shocked by Gohan's answer. He nodded.

"Of course. I go by the same rues you do. I don't take them off except to sleep and shower.

"Then you've even been wearing them in the gravity room," she said, realizing just what that meant.

Gohan nodded again.

"Yup."

He crouched down to look her in the eye, keeping the smile on his face. He picked up the wrist band and slipped it back on his wrist.

"You did well," he told her, not concerning himself with the gaping mouth. "You didn't manage to hit me but I couldn't shake you either. You kept me on my toes for the whole three hours."

Videl wasn't really listening. She was still trying to figure out how a guy who had to be wearing the best part of a ton in weight could still move that nimbly.

"Umm, do you need help getting up?"

The question woke Videl from her daze where she looked at Gohan who was eying her with concern.

"Umm, no I don't thanks."

She quickly got up, although she felt her legs protest.

"Great," he told her. "We'll go have lunch and a little rest to let the food die down, then we'll get back to it."

"What!" shouted Videl, loud enough for her two friends to hear. "There's more!"

Videl flung herself onto her bead with a groan. It had been a long day. She'd thought that away from Capsule Corp. and the gravity room, the training would be easier and take less of a toll. Gohan's answer to that seemed to be more training. Well it hadn't been all bad. Standing in her doorway was Gohan, who'd had to piggyback her all the way form the field and up the stairs, due to her complete inability to walk after the second round of the training session. It was late in the afternoon so Erasa and Sharpner had said goodbye once they'd left the field.

Videl groaned softly, now safe in the comfort of her own bed. Gohan smiled at her from the doorway.

"We'll be back in the gravity room tomorrow. But after that we'll get started on your flying lessons, instead of the usual meditation okay?"

Videl pushed her head up off the bed. She'd be learning to fly tomorrow?

A big grin spread across her face.

"Okay!" she said brightly. Then she frowned. Her lungs hurt, and by extension of that so did speaking.

"Alright. Well I'll leave now. I think I saw your father down stairs so I just need a word with him first. See you tomorrow Videl."

Videl managed to smile back.

"Bye Gohan."

Just like Gohan suspected he found Hercule in the living room. He knocked quietly before entering the room. Hercule's eyes widened when he saw who it was.

"I didn't dream last night did I?" asked Hercule. Gohan shook his head.

"No you didn't. Look Mr Satan, Videl knows you didn't defeat Cell. And she also knows I'm the delivery boy."

Mr Satan nodded his head sadly. It had occurred to him that he would be found out some day. But for the delivery boy himself to actual show up and torment him like this was something he didn't expect. But then, hadn't he said that He was going to protect both him and his daughter last night. Or had he imagined that part?

"But she doesn't know I was the one to beat cell," continued Gohan. This caused Hercule to look up at him with some confusion.

"I kind of said it was a joint effort rather than saying that anyone in particular defeated Cell," said Gohan with a slight blush. It wasn't necessarily a lie but it wasn't the truth either.

"Mr Satan I just want you to know that, I'm not mad at you for claiming you beat Cell. I don't really care about that at all. Although I was a little angry when you called my father a fraud. But I also realize that was necessary for you. You couldn't say that cell's abilities were real because then no one would believe you were able to beat him."

Hercule was rather shocked at what he was hearing. Was the delivery boy, who'd he'd lived in fear off the last two years, really saying that he understood his decisions? And that he wasn't mad either?"

"But the people who are after you now use the same abilities as me. That's why; you won't be able to beat these guys. But I can."

Hercule's eyes widened. What was this boy trying to say?

"And soon Videl will be able to beat them too. That's why, please let me continue training her. At least until the end of the school year. By then Videl will be strong enough to face these guys even without my help, and I'll be heading back to live in the mountains. So at that time, if you still want me to stay away from Videl then… I'll understand. But until then, I can protect her. So please, until that time let me stay beside her."

He fixed Hercule with a determined look, but Hercule was too busy coming to grips with everything that the boy had just said. This was the same boy who had defeated Cell, allowed him to take all the credit and even forgiven him for discrediting both him and his father. And not only that, he was offering to protect his daughter. After every ting that Hercule had done?

The world champion began to feel some tears well up behind his eyes. For the first time in two years, he felt regret for what he'd done that day.

"Alright Kid," he said, looking anywhere but at the boy in question. "You train my girl up to be strong enough to hold her own. No, please do it. And… I'm sorry. For everything I said."

Gohan smiled and nodded. Maybe Hercule wasn't so bad after all.

**Well most of it was filler, but I felt it was some needed filler. As I've already said I won't be updating tomorrow, but fear not, for I shall be back on Tuesday. Well I fear that I've ran out of things to bribe you guys with. I've already publically humiliated myself. So I figure I'll just set you guy the challenge of beating 87 reviews, and see if you can do it. You got two days this time so it should be easy right? Yeah, I don't think it's going to happen either but it's good to dream. **


	18. Sleeping Rice

**89 reviews… I'm not going to gush over that though, even though I really really want too. Instead I'm going to answer some questions. To the random guest who asked my age, not telling XD. I will say I can legally drive a car but I still get child fare on the bus, so long as I shave. Thrasher, I have no plans for Tao Pai Pai or Shen in this fic. A-man, the clarity member is no longer spying on Gohan, for reasons that'll become apparent soon. **

**The other thing is that some of you seem to think I should stop rushing the chapters and sacrificing quality. And while I can see where you're coming from with that, I kind of like doing it this way. If I leave it too long between updates I'll start putting it off indefinitely, that's just how I am. Plus the only way I'll be able to check for all the typo's and mistakes in my writing is if I left it three weeks until I've forgotten everything I wrote and then read through it. Otherwise I stop reading it and start skimming though it hoping I spot a mistake. I just hate reading through my own work I guess, even if it is just to correct it.**

**Well that's everything. Watch out for any more typo's in this chapter, they're bound to be there/**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonball Z. Sadly the rights to the classic piece of awesomeness belong to some other people who in all fairness did do a pretty good job of animating it so I'm going to put of my plans of stealing it.**

Videl was lying on the floor of the gravity room. She was breathing heavily completely unable to get up. It had been another day of chasing Trunks around the gravity room, and it had gone about as good as any other day. At best she could only get her body to do a light Jog under two times gravity. And even ten she fell over if she tried to stop or turn.

"Gohaaaaan, I'm tired," she wheezed out. It had only been two hours. Well maybe only wasn't the right word but point stands she should normally last a lot longer before she died like this. Well when the gravity wasn't doubled anyway. It probably didn't help that she trained until she couldn't walk anymore yesterday.

"Of course you're tired, you're training under two times gravity," Gohan answered. "All your internal organs are under twice the stress they're usually under. Especially your heart."

Videl twitched from her place on the ground.

"My… Heart?"

"Yeah," said Gohan, as if it was the most obvious thing in the word. "Your blood weighs twice as much at the moment. So no only id s your heart under a lot of stress it's got to work twice as hard as usual to pump your blood round."

Videl was quiet for a moment as she let this new information that was in a way obvious and yet something she'd never thought of before.

"That doesn't sound very good," she said from her place on the floor. Gohan shrugged his shoulders.

"Well what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, as the saying goes," said Gohan. "Same here, your heart will only get stronger. Or, alternatively it could give out from the stress and you could fall into cardiac arrest."

"…WHAT!" said Videl, suddenly pushing herself onto he feet so she could stalk over to Gohan. She only nearly fell over once in her attempt to walk the four meter distance. "Are you saying this training could kill me?"

"Umm," said Gohan, suddenly aware of how bad what he just said sounded. "It's not very likely. You only spend two days a week in here and even then you're only in here a couple of hours. Plus we do meditation afterwards to slow you heart rate back to normal so there shouldn't be any lasting side effects."

He hoped that would be enough to appease Videl. It wasn't.

"And when were you going to tell me this training was life threatening," she said, glaring at him. And for perhaps the first time ever Gohan felt himself gulp when face with that glare.

"Umm, I've never really thought of it as life threatening. As a martial artist your heart should already be very strong so, there really shouldn't be any problems."

Videl however wasn't satisfied with Gohan's excuse. Instead she made him spend the last hour of the lesson telling her all the dangers of training in the gravity room. Apparently side effects beside heart failure could include rickets and respiration problems as well as a few other nasty things. But Gohan insisted as long as she didn't spend too much time in the gravity room she would be fine.

So once they were done, Videl happily ate a feast cooked by Chi-Chi and then waited for the best part of half an hour before they got on with the training she was really looking forward to. Flying practice.

Somehow she was disappointed.

"What do you mean we're not flying today!"

Gohan was backing away in fear. He knew that she couldn't hurt him, yet for some reason he still found her really scary.

"There are preparations you've got to make for this stuff. Flying requires the ability to manipulate your ki, and that's something you haven't learned to do yet," Gohan said, holding his hands up in front of him to try and ward off the demoness who had fixed him with a death glare.

Said demoness stopped glaring and started pouting instead.

"Fine, what do we do first?"

Gohan gave her a weak smile that somewhat showed his relief.

"Well first I'm going to explain what Ki is," said Gohan. "You might want to sit down."

Videl nodded. She went to sit down on a rock, since they were back in the clearing and Gohan began his explanation.

"Ki, or energy or whatever you want to call it is basically something that's inside of you. You use it every day but you don't really realise it."

Really Gohan had no idea how to describe Ki, so he thought it best to give a demonstration. He put his hands together ready.

"By tapping into the ki source you have inside you, you can pull your Ki out to the surface, watch."

Videl gave Gohan a strange look but her expression changed immediately when she noticed a small yellow orb begin to take form between Gohan's palms.

"This is energy," he said happily. Videl leaned forwards, stretching her hand out towards the ball of light.

"I wouldn't do that," said Gohan, causing Videl's hand to freeze. "It's really hot, and if there's a disturbance in the balance of Ki it has a tendency to explode."

Videl retracted her hand fully this time.

"There's a lot of things you can do with your Ki," said Gohan. "Once you've mastered Ki manipulation, you'll be able to build up the Ki inside you until you reach a maximum point. But as long as you can do that you'll be able to freely control your own strength."

Gohan let the ball of Ki fade before clicking his fingers and getting Videl's attention again, who seemed to have gone off into her own world.

"As well as that, you'll be able to fire your Ki at opponents and by placing your ki underneath you, you'll be able to lift yourself up and fly," he told her. It was the last bit that really caught Videl's attention.

"So now I'm going to teach you how to access your Ki okay?"

Videl nodded and a determined Grin spread across her face.

Deep within a warehouse, several men dressed in blue hoody's were all huddled around one crate. They all sate on separate crates, and at the feet of each member there was a plain white mask.

"So, what do we do about Iscariot?" asked one member, before taking another piece of chicken from the pile on the crate in the middle.

"Preparations have already been made," answered another who went by the name of Peter, before he too took a bite of chicken.

Another man, who seemed to be seated on a bigger crate than the rest eyed all of his subordinates before speaking his piece.

"The clown is not your concern right now. We are still unable to identify the boy who protects the Satan girl."

There was a groan from another member.

"I thought you said he was one of _them."_

"I still believe he is," said the apparent leader of the group. "But it's too dangerous to follow him all the time. He has the ability to sense power levels and I can say with certainty that he is far above my own level."

He'd seen the kid's fight with Iscariot. He didn't even need to attack the clown but he'd still completely overwhelmed him.

"Perhaps the leader knows something about him?" interjected one of the men. But the supposed leader shook his head.

"The leader claims no knowledge of the boy. However he has suggested he maybe be the child of one of them. Most likely the father of the boy is the winner of the twenty third world martial arts tournament."

There were a few ah's among the men and an Ooh from a woman.

There was silence as the group finished the last of the chicken and downed their drinks.

"Peter, Andrew you two must accomplish your assignment tomorrow. That is all for today."

The group went to rise but one of the men interrupted.

"Umm, excuse me. I think you all owe me for dinner."

The group froze and began hurriedly looking around. Eventually all eyes turned to their leader. The man sighed.

"Pay your share," he told them, before pulling out his own wallet.

"So Videl, how'd your training with Gohan go yesterday?"

Videl was alone with Erasa at the mall. Sharpner had dragged Gohan into a boxing store. Apparently the blond wanted him to join the school boxing club. Videl didn't see it happening.

"It went… fine," answered Videl, although she gave a small frown. It had not gone fine. Not only did she find out that training in the gravity room was life threatening, especially on higher levels, but she'd been completely unable to tap into her Ki at all. She'd just sat there for two hours scrunching her face up. The only good side was she didn't feel as broken this morning as she usually did after a day in the gravity room. So now here she was sitting with Erasa at a small café waiting for the boys.

"So, did you two doing anything you shouldn't," said Erasa, the look on her face leaving no doubt as to what she meant.

"Of course not," said Videl, glaring at her so called best friend. She decided she needed a new best friend. This one was obviously defective.

"Videeeel, you need to get a move on. Gohan's really popular in school you know. If you don't bag him before we go back then someone else might."

Videl pointedly ignored Erasa, although she did ask her one thing.

"Do you think I should get him a Christmas present?" she asked, pointedly ignoring the surprised look on Erasa's face.

"Of course you should. Why wouldn't you? A Christmas present is the perfect way to impress him."

"It's just… we've only known him for like a month. So isn't it too soon to be getting him presents."

Erasa giggled.

"Of course not silly. He's practically part of the group already you know. It's be weird not to get him a present."

Videl nodded, accepting Erasa's reasoning.

"Then what should I get him?" she asked, now suddenly deep in thought.

"Well how about a scarf or something. I've never seen him with a scarf or ay gloves. Oh I know, you could knit the scarf and gloves yourself! I a hand knitted present to give to your lover is really popular in some countries."

"It's not like that Erasa," bite back Videl, trying to hide her blush at the word 'lover'. "It's just… something to say thank you for training me, and catching that weird guy who was stalking me. You know, just showing some appreciation. That's all."

Erasa pouted. Videl ignored her in favour of the little telly in the top corner of the café.

"Videl you need to get off your butt here and do something. Gohan's way too good a catch for you to-,"

"Shut up Erasa," Videl suddenly snapped before turning to shout at the woman at the till. "You, turn up the Tv!"

The startled woman did as she was asked without question, as Videl turned her head back to watch.

"-was a mass prison outbreak this morning, with outside help. Four officers were injured in the escape attempt and-."

But that wasn't what Videl was upset about. Next to the news anchor woman's face was a picture of Iscariot, who was grinning even in the photo.

"This man, identified only as Iscariot, is believed to have led the break out from inside the prison," reported the news woman. "Two men dressed in blue clothing and white masks assisted from outside the prison gates. Eye witnesses state that 'glowing orbs of light' were used to destroy the prison walls. Iscariot, along with the two men are members of an organisation called Clarity, which is believed to have attacked the Satan manor some days ago."

Videl felt herself boiling with rage as she continued watching the news. The bastard had escaped, along with half the prison! The news woman moved on to say that almost all the prisoners successfully escaped with only a handful being successfully recaptured.

"This is all happening too fast," muttered Videl. Just last week she still thought of her father as the strongest man on earth, and didn't believe in Ki at all. Then in period of a few days, her home was attacked, she found out Gohan was the delivery boy from the Cell games, her Dad's most likely a fraud, still wasn't a hundred per cent sure and Gohan refused to clarify , and asshole Gohan had managed to catch had already escaped from prison.

"It's going to be a busy week," groaned Videl. Somehow she could just see that things were going to be mad over the coming week and she wouldn't be surprised to see another clarity attack.

Videl wasn't wrong. Criminals were popping up all over the place, and the crime rate in Satan city suddenly skyrocketed. The police were stretched thin trying to recapture all the criminals and others saw this as an opportunity to get into crime themselves. Simply put the prison break turned Satan city from a place of peace to a place of chaos. Hercule wouldn't let Videl out of the house unless she took Gohan with her, and had even taken to inviting the boy to stay over himself, out of fear that more members of Clarity should attack the house. Almost every day there was a report of a bank robbery or fire fights in the street. There was even a report of an attempted robbery at Capsule Corp. although apparently all of the culprits had been apprehended by the time the police got there. That was the day Vegeta met the news.

Over the week Videl threw herself into her training with Gohan. She decided that if they weren't in the gravity room then he'd be teaching her to fly. Every single day.

"Alright Videl, that's it. You've almost got it."

Videl tried to concentrate harder. It certainly felt light a spark was igniting in her hand. With a final push of her energy a small yellow sphere popped into existence between her hands. It only stayed for about ten seconds before it faded out of existence, and when it did, Videl suddenly felt drowsy. She began to fall backwards of her feet. But before she managed to crash to the ground Gohan was behind her and he'd caught her.

"That was great Videl," he told her happily. "With a bit more practice we'll be able to start you're actual flying lessons. "

Videl didn't say anything, just nodded. She was too exhausted to speak. She also noticed that Gohan was still holding her up, but she decided not to say anything about that either. Instead she just kept on breathing until she felt ready to talk.

"Why am I so tired," she asked groggily. She felt just about ready to conk out. She really didn't even know why she was still awake.

"You're not used to using your energy yet," he told her. "It's going to take a lot out of you. Especially since you haven't taken a break the last few days."

It was now Friday, four days since the breakout occurred and Satan City descended into Chaos. Videl hadn't stopped training the entire time.

"I think you really need to rest now," Gohan told her. "Overworking yourself isn't going to do you any good."

Videl just groaned. Gohan smiled down at her, placed his hands over her eyes and before she could protest she was asleep.

Gohan looked down at her.

"She's really cute when she sleeps," he thought. But then he shook his head. He picked her up bridal style and carried her out the clearing.

"Bulma!" he called out, hoping the blue haired genius could hear him.

"BULMA!" he tried again, but louder this time. It worked because suddenly, Bulma strolled out of a door and down the corridor towards them.

"What's up Kid," she asked, raising an eyebrow at the sleeping girl in his arms.

"I need a place to put her until she waked up," he said.

Bulma shrugged before turning around. "Follow me."

**Yes I know, not much happened other than the break out and the chapter was kind of short. But I'm tired, I've been working all yesterday morning, night and this morning too. What's more I'll be working tomorrow, so there won't be an update until Thursday. Sorry. However I can assure you that Thuresdays chapter is going to be an action packed chapter with lots of cool stuff going on. And I'll be locked in the house all day Thuresday with nothing to do, so it will be perfect. Hopefully this is going to be the last of the short chapters for a while. Okay, I think I'm going to bed now. It's only three in the afternoon, still plenty of time for a snooz. Goodnight.**


	19. Missing Rice

**Well apparently using lines to show a scene change isn't working, so today I'm going to try using starts instead/ Hopefully that'll work.**

**Well onto important business I owe you guys a little apology. See I was determined to make this a nice long chapter today, to make up for the last few short ones. See it was supposed to be just me in the house today, on my own with no work to do or anything. No one informed me of a change of plans so instead I'm going to be working all day on my supposed day off. Worst bit I don't even get paid for it. Well my step Brother has it a bit worse. He was supposed to go on a date with his girlfriend, but just like me he got told this morning that he was working too. So now his girlfriend won't talk to him. Anyway point is, I didn't get to write the nice long chapter I wanted. So Instead you'll have to make do with a medium length chapter which also lacks anywhere near as much action as I wanted. That will have to wait until tomorrow. On the plus side there's still a little action and pretty much no filler. In other words the plots advancing!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of this stuff.**

"Vegeta, I just can't believe you sometimes."

Bulma had her arms crossed in front of her chest and was marching along the side walk, constantly sending glares to her husband beside her.

"It is everyman's right to defend his own home," Interjected Vegeta, returning the glares. "It is these stupid earth laws that are at fault. To think you can be prosecuted for attacking invaders into your property."

"It's not that you attacked them you idiot," growled Bulma, stopping on the side walk and glaring intensely at her husband.

"It's that you almost _killed _them! You should have just swiftly knocked them out but no, you had to throw them into a wall, beat them ten feet underground and play keepy upy with them!"

"All perfectly justified," said Vegeta with a shrug of his shoulders. "Except that last one, that was Trunks."

"Yes, well if it was just that, we might have gotten away with it, but then YOU HAD TO ATTACK THE REPORTERS!"

They were LOUD," growled back Vegeta. By now people had started to throw suspicious looks at the arguing couple, who were paying absolutely no attention to the people around them.

"There infernal blathering with all the questions and what not was torture. It was interfering with my training," Vegeta explained, obviously not able to recognize why this was not a good enough reason for attempted homicide.

"That does not mean you have to storm out of the house, charge up a Ki-ball and throw it at them," said Bulma, trying to keep her tone even. She wasn't doing very well.

"Actually Woman, that's exactly what it meant. On the planet Vegeta if someone were to annoy you in anyway, or break into your property, it was expected of you fight that someone to the death. The fact that I allowed those blithering idiots to live shows that I have taken your planet's law into some consideration, so stop nagging me!"

Bulma gritted her teeth in rage.

"Stop nagging you… Do you have any idea how your bail cost! How difficult it's going to be to keep you out of prison? And yes you didn't kill them but you didn't exactly let them get away free either. Two of them lost limbs Vegeta. Do you have any idea what this is going to look like to the rest of the world? Husband of Bulma briefs blows up news crew, the media are going to have a field day!"

Vegeta snorted, before continuing to walk past Bulma.

"Who are what this media is, is of no concern to me woman. It's your problem, so fix it on your own."

Bulma's mouth was left hanging in a mixture of shock and fury.

'He did not just say that!'

Videl grunted as she threw Jazz through air. He landed outside the miniature ring her father had sent up and Videl happily called in the next fighter. Grant was easily one of the top fighters at her father's gym. He was a twenty-five year old man who'd even managed to make it to the quarter finals of the Tenkaichi budakai. She always had difficulty fighting him, and it wasn't a rare occurrence for her to lose to him either.

As he went for his first attack, she jump high into the air, over his outstretched hand and shot her foot out, hitting his forehead with a powerful blow. The large man took several steps back but didn't fall. Before he could recover Videl shot forward landing a powerful punch into his gut, causing the man to scream out in pain and bend over her fist. Seizing the opportunity she grabbed Grant by the hem of his gi, and the whole gym was in silence as a thirteen year old girl easily threw a man three times her size over her shoulder and out the ring.

"Next," said Videl happily.

Training with Gohan was really paying off for her. Her strength and speed and both increased, but what was really doing wonders for her was her newfound sense of balance and how easily she was able to read her opponents now. To be able to read the opponents movement was a major part of being able to catch Trunks in the gravity room. She was never going to match his speed so cornering him seemed to be her only option. She still hadn't managed to catch him though.

"Okay Videl, I think we can all see how much you've improved. Why don't you come with me now and we can have a little discussion."

Videl shrugged

"Okay Daddy," she said, before hopping down from the ring. She grabbed a towel from a rack before realising she was hardly sweating. She looked behind her at the eight crumpled bodies that surrounded the ring. She gave a shrug before following her father out of the complex.

"What did you want to talk about Daddy," she asked, walking along beside the man. She'd found out that her father had lied to her about defeating Cell. She'd lost almost all of the pride she'd took in him yet she still couldn't help but see him as her Daddy.

"Sweet pea, what kind of training are you doing with that Gohan boy? You've obviously become much stronger. I just want to know that you're not doing anything… weird to get so much stronger so quickly."

Videl stared at her father with a confused frown.

"What do you mean by weird?" she asked.

Hercule shifted uncomfortably under the gaze of his daughter. It wasn't hard for him to see that his little angel was already stronger than he was.

"Well, I want to know that he hasn't fed you anything strange or hooked you up to any strange machines."

The way he saw it there was no way someone could fly naturally or shoot those large blasts of light.

"Umm, no nothing like that," said Videl. "Just sparring practice, training with weights. It's just like exercising at your gym, only the trainings ten times more intense and a hundred times harder."

Hercule looked down at his daughter in wonderment.

"It is?" he asked, not expecting that to be her answer.

Videl nodded.

"Yeah it's just really intense training."

Hercule frowned, wondering just how intense training had to be for you to be able to run faster than a bullet.

"He's not hurting you is he?" asked Hercule, gazing down at his daughter.

"Not very often," said Videl, not really paying attention to the conversation anymore. Instead she was wondering what she was going to be doing with Gohan today. She'd finally gotten the basics of Ki control so hopefully they'd be able to move on to flying today.

"Not very Often! That brat hurts you Videl. Ooh I knew I shouldn't have trusted him, hurting my daughter. I don't care who he is I'm going to beat him till he begs me to stop!" burst out Hercule, attempting to run down the hall as fast as he could in order to find the little boy. However he soon found himself held in place by a vice grip on is shirt. He looked behind him to see Videl holding onto his Gi, obviously not letting him go anywhere.

"Hang on there Dad. It's obvious that you're going to get a little ruffed up in training. No pain no gain right. It's not like he hits me if I do something wrong or anything."

Hopefully this would be enough to quell her father. She was wrong.

"That's no excuse Videl, he should be making should that not even a hair on your head gets damaged. If he's letting you get hurt then I forbid you to train with him any longer.

Videl growled under her breath. Her father was really annoying sometimes.

"Okay then Dad. Why don't you teach me something? How about we have a spar?"

Hercule saw the anger in his daughter's eyes and gulped.

"No, that's alright Sweetie, Daddy just got a little worried that's all.

'Is this what it's going to be like from now on?' thought Hercule, watching as his daughter let go of his gi and her scowl turned into a sweet smile. 'Living in fear of my daughter?'

"Tell you what Sweetie, why don't you go wait for Gohan to come. Not much point in taking a shower if you're just going to be doing more training."

Videl smiled and nodded before wondering off.

Hercule sighed and started walking back towards his gym.

When he got there a sight he did not expect at all was waiting for him. The ground was littered with the unconscious forms of all of his students. In the middle of his little wring a man in a blue outfit and a white mask stood staring down at him. Out of the corner of his eye Hercule could see another one sitting in the corner with his knees to his chest and his arms wrapped around them. The one who stood in the middle of the ring held his hand up and waved.

"Yo, names Matty. I'm here for my lessons," said the man cheerfully.

Hercule was too bust looking around the room at his sleeping students.

"Don't worry they'll be fine," said the Matty, letting his hand flop to his side. "Funny thing is, eight of them were already unconscious when we got here."

Hercule turned to glare at the man before growling and stepping into the ring.

"You want lessons. I'll give you lessons."

Hercule shot forward, rearing his left fist back and letting it fly. Matty side stepped before grabbing Hercules outstretched arm, kicking at Hercule's shin and flipping the man over onto the ring floor. Hercule landed painfully but as soon as he landed he spun on his back, kicking Matty's legs out from under him.

Now both men were on the floor though Hercule wasted no time lunging at the man. He straddled Matty's stomach and started raining down punched at Matty's head. Matty kept his arms up not letting any of the blows past his guard. Hercule reared his fist back and let it come flying down hood. Matty waited until the last second before jerking his head to the side and letting Hercule's fist crash into the floor where his head used to be. Hercule's eyes widened in pain before Matty's fist shot forward, slamming into Hercule's nose. Hercule's head shot backwards and Matty's planted another fist into Hercules stomach. Then he opened his fist and let of a small Ki blast blank range into Hercules stomach, sending Hercule flying of him and landing with a loud thud just inside the ring. Hercule gave a groan before trying to get up again but a foot was suddenly placed above his head.

"You really are a stubborn old geezer," said Matty, out of breath slightly. "There's not many who can take a Ki blast directly to the stomach and still get up again."

Hercule grunted. More than his strength, his endurance was something he would always be proud off. After all not many people could get sent flying into a cliff by a green monster and then walk back to the ring side on their own.

"Okay Mr Satan listen up. You're coming with us. Our leader's got a few questions he wants to ask you."

Matty removed his foot from Hercules head before picking him up by the collar of his neck.

"But I appreciate that you might not be willing to come with us. After all you might have other plans. So we are willing to offer a compromise. Come with us willingly and without a fuss, and not only will we leave you conscious we'll even refrain from harming that cute daughter of yours.

Hercule growled, although he didn't attack.

"How dare you threaten my daughter? I swear I'll make you pay for this, if it's the last thing I do."

"Of course you will," said Matty happily. "But before you do that, how about our deal? You up for it?"

Hercule gave a glare that even Vegeta would commend but relented all the same.

"Fine, you just leave my daughter alone."

"Will do Mr champ."

Videl was waiting patiently in the foyer. Gohan should be here any minute now. As if responding to her wish the intercom buzzed. Videl didn't bother answering, happily bouncing over to the door, and yanking it open instead. Gohan stood by her gate and she waved to him before closing her door and running over.

"Hi Gohan," she said cheerfully.

Gohan smiled back at her.

"Hi Videl. So you ready to fly today?"

Videl nodded her head vigorously.

"Great. Let's get going then."

The two fell into a comfortable silence as they fell into step next to each other and happily walked down Videl's street. They came to the end of her road just in time to see a blue van speeding round the corner, although neither of them paid it much mind.

As soon as they got to Capsule corp. they headed immediately for the clearing.

"Okay Videl, not that you've mastered basic Ki control, flying should be pretty simple," said Gohan. "Umm, all you really need to do is gather that energy under your feet and then use it to lift you up in the air."

Videl eyes him suspiciously. "Won't I blow up the ground if I create ki balls beneath my feet?"

"What, no!" said Gohan shaking his head. "You place the ki beneath your feet but don't allow it to take physical form."

"Oh," said Videl, her face lighting up in understanding. Then she went back to frowning. "How do I do that?"

Gohan let out a sigh. This was going to take longer than he thought.

"Look Woman, I've done as you said. I allowed myself to be locked up in that stupid hell hole, and I didn't blow it up. What more do you want?" said Vegeta, grinding his teeth. He'd been arguing with his wife for the best part of an hour now, in the middle of the street..

"What I want Vegeta, is for you to not have to go there in the first place. Seriously sometimes I just don't think it's worth keeping you."

The large vein on Vegeta's forehead seemed to expand in his anger.

"Keep me? What do you think I am your pet!"

"Yeah, that's exactly what I think you are. All you do is lounge around the house all day training and watching soap operas. Then you demand that I feed you and expect me to fuss you at night. You're like a badly trained dog!"

Vegeta growled loudly, getting a few more looks from passers-by.

"Woman, I am the prince of all Saiyan's! I will not lower myself to the level of you pitiful earthlings. As a prince it is my right to spend my days as I wish without you pestering me!"

Bulma matched the glare Vegeta had on his face before biting back.

"Well being a Prince hasn't gotten us anything has it? So why don't you get off your high horse and get an actual job. Or at the very least help out some around the house."

"I do help out, I look after the brat," said Vegeta, ego now slightly wounded.

"Really because sometimes I think it's Trunk's taking care of you!"

Vegeta was about to retort when a blue Van suddenly shot past him, the side mirror clipping his arm and smashing against his rock hard skin. Vegeta was knocked of balance a bit before turning to yell at the offending van was now careening off around the corner.

"HEY YOU ASSHOEL, GET BACK HERE SO I CAN BLAST YOU INTO FUCKING OBLIVION!"

Vegeta began screaming after the van, the small cut in his arm only noticed by Bulma.

"Oh god Vegeta you're bleeding. Come one, let's get home and we'll sort it out," said Bulma, grabbing onto his hand and pulling him down the road.

Vegeta stopped his screaming to stare at his wife, who had suddenly calmed down. She was worried about such a tiny cut. Really it was almost laughable. But regardless he allowed himself to get dragged along.

"Don't worry about those asshole's Vegeta. I got the licence plate. I'll call the police when we get home. Driving like that I wouldn't be surprised if they killed someone."

Vegeta merely grunted. He'd stopped being angry at the van, as hard as that was to believe. It had after all managed to get him out of the shouting match with his wife.

Videl giggled gleefully as she hovered a good eight feet off the ground. Gohan was smiling up at her as she swayed a little. Suddenly Videl dropped, giving a small squeal as she fell out of the sky. Of course Gohan caught her bridal style.

"Easy there Videl. You're still not used to using your energy like this. Don't hover more than a couple of feet okay."

Videl wasn't really paying much attention. She was too busy blushing since Gohan was still holding her bridal style as he spoke to her.

"Umm, Gohan. Could you… put me down please?"

Gohan blinked, before noticing that he was still holding her. He felt a hot flush in his cheeks and quickly set her on her feet.

"Sorry about that," he said, nervously scratching the back of his head and blushing. Videl lowered her gaze and started sweeping her foot along the floor.

"That's okay," she said, trying to fight down her blush.

There was silence between the two for a moment. Then…

_**Ring Ring**_

Videl jumped up in shock before quickly heading over to her coat to find her phone out. Finding it she saw the caller was Erasa. She flipped it open and lifted the phone to her ear.

"Hi Erasa," said Videl uncertainly.

"Oh Videl, thank God you're okay," she heard her friend gush down on the other side. "Where are you? Are you okay?"

"Calm down Erasa, I'm with Gohan," she said. "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong? Videl don't you know, they think you and your father have been kidnapped!

Videl nearly dropped her phone.

"What!"

"Yeah, apparently one the guys at your gym called the police because someone came and attacked everyone at your gym. When the police got there they tried to find you and Hercule but they couldn't find you anywhere."

"My Dad's missing," said Videl. Gohan looked up, worry evident on his face. He'd thought, just for a second that he felt some Ki spike this morning, but when he checked again he couldn't feel anything. He'd thought that one of the Clarity members had saw him and ran. Guess not.

"Yeah Videl, it's all over the news. You'd better go tell the police you're like, alive and stuff."

"Yeah but, what about Dad?" she said. Was he alive? He might have been really annoying, always yelled about stupid stuff and lied to her most of her life but he was still her Dad. And she'd be really upset if he died.

Gohan watched as tears began to well up in Videl's eyes. She seemed to fidget as she continued talking to Erasa on the phone.

'She's worried,' thought Gohan. 'Well obviously, her dad's been kidnapped.'

Eventually Videl got off the phone and went to tell Gohan the news. But he brought a hand up to silence her and told her he's heard the brunt of it.

"Don't worry, the police can find him. And I'm sure once Bulma gets back she can definitely help out too."

After all if she can make a dragon radar then she can make a Hercule radar. Or possibly an afro radar. After all there can't be too many people with that haircut.

Videl nodded.

"Gohan, can you do anything to find him?" she asked, looking up at him pleadingly. He'd never seen Videl seem so lost before.

Gohan thought for a moment. There's no way he'd be able to track down Hercules ki signature, and he doubted there was anything he could do that the police couldn't. But even so there had to be something.

"Why don't we go and inform the police that you're safe first," he said. "Then we'll see what we can do for Mr Satan."

Videl nodded, suppressing a little sniffle.

"Don't worry Videl, Mr Satan's going to be alright."

Hercule blinked his eyes as the blindfold was removed from his face. He was tied to a chair in the middle of a warehouse. Around him sat three people, all of them dressed in blue. Two of them had masks with faces on. The one in the centre however wore a gold mask with emerald running around the eyes and a small yin-yang symbol on his forehead.

"Now then Mr Satan, we're going to discuss a things and hopefully, bring some light to certain… events."

Hercule gulped. This man did not sound pleasant.

**Well what do you think? Personally I think I managed to tie it off nicely. Doesn't go too far out of what I wanted, I just cut out certain bits so I could include them next chapter instead. I really did mean to write about six or seven thousand words for this chapter, but instead I'm using the one hour at the computer which I have today to try and come up with a satisfactory ending for this chapter. I know that some of you will think that I shouldn't have bothered and just waited till tomorrow when I could have put up everything. But it doesn't really make a difference, I'll put up what I've wrote now and everything else I wanted to write tomorrow. The only difference is that I said I'd update today, and I didn't want to be a liar. So the only thing I got left to say is look forward to some interesting stuff tomorrow and I hope you'll all enjoy it.**


	20. Bloody source with angry Rice

**Whyyyyyy. I'm trying all these lines and stars and stuff to separate the different sequences but none of them work. They won't show up in the fic. Okay, someone is going to have to tell me what I'm doing wrong here, other than all the typo's and missing words. Another thing, this is another shortish chapter. Sorry guys, but it's either this or nothing at all, and I won't be able to update again until Sunday, since I'm working pretty much from six in the morning till ten at night tomorrow. What a way to spend Saturday. So yeah sorry Gohanfanfics, I'll try and make the next one longer.**

**Well let's talk about a minor event from last chapter. Vegeta getting a scratch from being hit by the side mirror of a car. As many of you pointed out, a car can't hurt Vegeta. Besides getting hit by a car mirror wouldn't give you a cut anyways, you just get a big bruise. I know from experience. However for the purpose of I wanted a reason for Bulma to drag Vegeta home, and I couldn't think of anything better than actually attaining a miniscule injury, he got a cut anyway. **

**Well I don't have anything else to say other than this. If anyone here can think of a better summary for this fic, then tell me. I don't like the current one I have but I can't think of anything better. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonball Z or any of its friends. **

Bulma stood in the middle of her living room, hand on her chin and deep in thought. Vegeta was there too with a large grin on his face, looking like both Christmas and his birthday had come all at once.

"So Mr Satan's been kidnapped? How do you expect me to find him," she said, looking down at the two teens in front of her. Said teens turned to look at each other then back to Bulma.

"I thought you might have some gadget, like an afro radar or something," said Gohan, trying to think of exactly what Bulma could actually do.

"Sorry Kid, but I don't think I've got anything like that," said Bulma, holding back a chuckle. Now was not a time for laughter.

"Gohan, did you see anything suspicious when you went to pick up Videl this morning?" she asked, looking down at him.

Gohan gave it some thought.

"I don't think so," he said, giving a shrug.

"There was a blue van," said Videl, causing all eyes to turn towards her. "The area surrounding the mansion is a private estate, so it's weird to see cars round there anyway. And if you're going to kidnap someone you almost always put them in the back of a van."

Bulma's eyes widened slightly.

"A blue van you say, kind of like the one that hit you Vegeta."

Vegeta's evil grin was replaced with a frown.

"Are you suggesting they're the same van," he said, to which Bulma gave a nod.

"There's a possibility. And if you remember I got the asshole's licence plate too."

Bulma gave a big smile.

"Looks like you're in luck Kids, we might be able to save Mr Satan after all."

"Why are you coming Vegeta?" asked Gohan, looking up to the man who was following them. The man grinned back down at them. It had taken Bulma less than ten minutes to locate the Van. Gohan didn't even know how she did it. She just out the licence plate number into a big computer and suddenly recordings from every speed camera in the city popped up on the screen. She'd been able to figure out where they were going from which speed camera's they appeared in, giving them a rough guess as to which area they were in. She'd then told them to go search the area before calling the poice.

"Because those assholes had the nerve to hit me with their puny earth Vehicles," he said, a slight grin forming on his face when he imagined what he was going to do to the driver of the van once he found him.

"Gohan, does this guy think he's the Hulk, he keeps calling everything puny?" said Videl, giving Vegeta an odd look.

"What's the Hulk?" asked Gohan, his voice filled with genuine curiosity. Videl just sighed in response to the question.

"Look brats, enough Chit-chat. We'll split up and look for the van," growled Vegeta.

They were in a pretty run down part of the city. Mainly it was just a big bunch of old warehouses.

"Videl, if you find something just flare your Ki and we'll come find you," Gohan told her. Videl just nodded her head, and with one last look at each other the two went their separate ways. Vegeta just gave a snort before he too began to walk off.

"Well Mr Satan, I shall start by explaining what you can do for us, and what we can do for you," said the man in the gold mask, his voice all together light yet with a sinister undertone. "What we would like you to do is give an accurate description of the true events of the Cell games. Now we want none of your lies here please."

Hercule couldn't help but gulp. He had to find a way out of this. There had to be some way he could escape.

"Y-Y-You said you could do something for me," he nervously stammered. "I-I don't see what I can gain from d-dealing with f-f-freaks like you,"

"But of course there's something you can gain, for starters if you tell us what we want to know we will let you leave here more or less unharmed. We will never bother you again. We just wish to know the truth Mr Satan, and as far as we are aware you are the only one who knows it."

Hercule gulped. He was very afraid right now.

"I-I don't know anything," he said. "I've already said everything I know during my press conferences. I swear it was all the truth."

The man in the gold mask gave a sigh.

"To think here we have the champion of martial arts snivelling like the coward he really is. That is the truth isn't it Mr Satan. You are a coward. You fought Cell only when you believed you had a chance of winning, but once you realised that was not the chance, you made excuses. You stalled. What was you said, stomach cramps?"

He nodded to one of the other men who promptly got up. He walked calmly over to Hercule, who gave a whimper as the man approached. Without a word, the masked man drove a fist into Hercule's stomach, causing him to gasp out in pain.

"Mr Satan, all I am requesting from you is the true events of what happened that day. You will soon find I am not a very patient man Mr Satan, so you had better start talking."

Videl was walking calmly among the ware houses sparing quick glances left and right. It was strange, she felt rather exposed here. Even though it hadn't snowed the last few days the snow was still fresh and crisp here, showing just how little people came here. Her scrunch sound made by her foot hitting the snow was the only thing she could hear, and it was kind of creeping her out. She was on edge. She was looking around carefully hoping to spot a hint of blue in the otherwise white area. She felt herself shiver a little. She really didn't like being out in the open here. There wasn't even a single other foot print in the snow. She wanted to get away somewhere safe, but at the same time there was no way she could just abandon her Dad. Suddenly an idea clicked in her head.

She closed her eyes and focused. Ki began to build beneath her feet. The snow around her boots began to move as energy gathered there. She kept her focus and slowly she felt herself rise. She didn't carry open her eyes just yet though. She let herself go higher and higher until finally she opened she stopped.

Opening her eyes she squinted down below her. She was a good twenty feet in the ait, and above the warehouse rooftops. Smiling to herself she flew slowly over the warehouses until finally she found something that looked like tire tracks.

She landed softly but soon staggered.

'That takes way too much out of me,' she thought to herself.

Now following the tire tracks it didn't take her long to finally find the blue van. Grinning to herself Videl prepared to flare her ki to signal Gohan.

…

'How exactly do I flare my ki.'

Videl frowned upon realizing she hadn't learnt how to do that.

She looked over to the warehouse.

'Maybe I can make some kind of loud noise instead.'

She thought about it but realised that would just tell the kidnappers that someone was out here.

'Well guess I'll just check the surrounding warehouses.'

On the third Warehouse she'd infiltrated Videl finally managed to find her father. She'd floated up to a window which she was able to squeeze through. She'd crawled around the rafters until eventually she'd spotted them far down below. Four men, three in blue and one of them a large man ties to a chair. Definitely her father. She decided that the one in the middle of the three blue figures was the leader. And in the empty space of the warehouse his voice seemed to echo.

"Please now Mr Satan, you are being unreasonable. We know you are not the one to defeat Cell. We just wish for the name of whoever did. If nothing more than a hint to his true identity."

'So that's what they're after,' she thought to herself. 'But why do they want to know who defeated Cell. And why won't my father just tell them.'

She cringed at the sight of her father. He was sporting a black eye and a split lip, his head hanging backwards over his chair so she could see his face. And suddenly, she seemed to catch his eye. His mouth opened in shock for a second when he saw her, but made sure not to make any noise from his surprise.

Videl decided that she wasn't going to let these men hurt her father anymore.

_Gohan, please feel this._

The leader continued to talk.

"Come now Mr Satan, we are speaking of the man for whom you stole the credit for defeating Cell. You clearly have no loyalty to whoever it was. If you do not know a name, then just describe the person to us. Was it perhaps the man with the widow's peak? Or perhaps the large green man?"

Whatever he was planning to say next was cut off as he suddenly took a step backwards just as a ball of pink energy impacted with the ground where he'd been standing a moment before.

"Looks like we have a rat," the man said, now staring up to Videl, who was suddenly feeling very scared.

"Gentlemen, if you would."

Both men beside him stuck their palms into the air and aimed them at Videl. Both charged a Ki blast and fired.

Videl gave a squeak and scrambled to get out of the way of the incoming ki blasts. They hit the rafter she was on, destroying it completely and causing Videl to fall down through the air.

It was a good drop to the bottom, but to everyone's amazement, Videl managed to catch herself, placing her energy beneath her to catch her allowing her to stop herself a metre from the floor. Videl felt her energy dissipate and she fell the last metre landing with an 'ow'.

"Videl," Mr Satan gasped at his daughter. "Run away, you shouldn't be here."

Videl chose to ignore her father and instead stood up in front of him. She faced the three men and swung her arms up besides her, standing protectively in front of Hercule.

"Leave my father alone," she bellowed.

Videl was completely aware of the tears that were running down her cheeks. She was aware that her legs were shaking and this was the most afraid she could ever remember being.

"Interesting, the hanging crane technique."

This came from the man with the golden mask. He was tilting his head as he stared at her, and Videl felt a shiver work its way up her back.

"I have always been interested in learning it. Perhaps you could help child. The basic theory would be enough. Won't you please share that technique with me?"

Videl couldn't help but blink in confusion. This man had her father tied to a chair and beaten, and he wanted her to tech him to fly?

"Are you crazy she hissed at him," then in her head, '_where the hell is Gohan.'_

"I will take that answer as a no. Well it doesn't matter, I'm sure we can convince you to change your mind. Gentlemen."

The two men began walking towards her.

Videl made a swallowing sound as she eyes the approaching men.

'All right, she could do this. She'd beaten that other guy, so she could beat these too.'

Before she had time to doubt herself she shot forwards, intending on beating the man on the left down. However she found her blow quickly blocked by a forearm, and then before she could register she'd been hita a force from her right sent her flying, smashing her into some crates.

"VIDEL!" shouted Hercule, horrified at the sight if her daughter being batted away. "You leave her alone!"

But the two men ignored him, simply advancing on his daughter who was picking herself up. She had a large gash on her cheek and her jacket seemed to have been ripped off on one of the larger splinters of wood.

"They're strong," she said aloud, realizing her disadvantage at the same time. She felt rather woozy but moved forwards anyway. She was unsteady on her feet but she got into a stance anyway. Suddenly the man on the left took a step forward and lunged forward with his right arm. Videl managed to dodge out the way, attempting to step forward and drive a punch into the man's gut. But the man was quicker. He went at her with a knee, causing her to stagger out the way again.

Then the other man was there, and before she had time to react he backhanded her, sending her small frame flying back to her father's feet.

"Videl," cried the older Satan. Once again she struggled to get to her feet. Tears were pouring out her eyes now as the men approached her again.

"Enough, put her down now please," came a voice from behind the two men.

The man on the left pulled his hand back ready to strike.

Videl didn't have the strength left to fight. She'd already used so much energy flying. Instead she closed her eyes and waited for the punch to come. She heard a thud.

She waited but nothing else happened. Slowly she opened her eyes.

In front of her stood Gohan. He was holding the man's fist in his hand and the man seemed to be trying to pull his hand back.

"You did this?" hissed Gohan, and Videl had never heard him so angry. Well she'd never heard him angry period, but the voice he just used actually scared her more than the man in the golden mask had.

Gohan's free hand shot upwards towards the man's face. His fist smashed into the man's mask, and his head shot backwards. Shards of mask covered in small droplets of blood flew into the air as the man dropped backwards, completely unconscious. He crumbled to the ground and Gohan turned on the other man. He charged a Ki blast until it was as big as Mr Satan's head.

"Die!" he shouted and fired the ki blast.

Gohan just batted it away. It flew to the side where it exploded, creating a large hole in the side of the warehouse.

Gohan calmly continued walking towards the second man, who was taking step after step backwards on trembling legs.

'He's terrified,' realized Videl. 'Terrified of Gohan."

"Perhaps I can sort this," said the man in the golden mask, stepping forwards. He had both his hand held up in a gesture of surrender. He nodded to the other masked man who seemed to get whatever his leader was doing.

"You seem very powerful," said the man with the golden mask. "I would very much like to talk to you. However I appreciate that right now you may not be in the best of moods."

The man quickly shifted the position of his hands, causing four fingers to point inwards to his head. Gohan's eyes widened seeming to realize what he was doing.

"Solar flare," said the man, and Videl could swear she could hear a hint of smugness in his voice. Then there was a blinding white light. Videl had to shield her eyes and when she could see again, all three masked men were gone.

For a moment there was nothing but silence. Then Gohan spun on his heels he rushed over to Videl ad before she could protest he had her in a bone crushing hug.

"G-Gohan," she whispered not sure what else to say.

Suddenly he was holding her at arm's length.

"Idiot," he suddenly yelled at her. "You should have waited. Why didn't you flare your Ki?"

Videl stared open mouthed at Gohan. Had he just yelled at her?

"I-I,… You didn't…,"

Then her eyes watered up once more and before Gohan could shield his ears Videl broke out crying.

**Yeah, by crying I mean the really loud kind, not just tears running down your face. Well next chapter you're all going to learn just what Vegeta's been doing while all that was going on. I'm sure your all interested. **

**Before I forget, anyone interested in being a Beta for this story. A lot of people have suggested I get one. And before I forget, dbz Lover, I want to know what the last half of your review was going to be before you 'scratched it out.' Can you tell me? pleeeeaaase **


	21. Famous Rice

**Well everyone we have some pretty long author notes today. First off I want to thank Danish-American for his great Ideas for a summary. I didn't use them word for word but my current one is heavily based on what you said. So credit to you for my current summary. Next last chapter was able get me to clear SIX HUNDRED REVIEWS. How crazy is that. And the six hundredth reviewer is… guest. I'm not sure which one though, might be the one who says hello every chapter. Well anyway on to the important matters at hand. **

**First, the Solar flare technique. The solar flare works by building up ki and unleashing it in a flash of light. The sun isn't needed for this technique, the best example being Cell, who used it in dragonball GT despite the fact he was in hell. My own guess is that it's similar to the super Saiyan aura, only much brighter, and only lasts a second. Someone also wanted to know why Gohan didn't just use his ability to sense Ki to find gold mask while he was blinded. If you could do that, everyone in the anime would. So I'm guessing that the sudden flare of ki interferes with the ability to sense ki.**

**Now for the really important thing.**

**I mentioned last chapter that I wanted a Beta reader, then a few of you expressed interest. But once that happened I didn't really know how to choose one of those people, so I thought what if I made a competition. So brought up the subject, but then a few hours later realised that was stupid. However whilst pondering the idea I got a very… nice review basically calling me out for the lazy bastard that I am. But the main bit is that he/she pointed out there was an actual Beta section, which after taking a look I realized HE WAS RIGHT. There is a section, so I decided that I would simply find someone who expressed interest and was part of this section, and screw a stupid idea like a competition. **

**So I will continue my search for a beta reader. Hopefully this will be the last chapter I post without one. Yeah, that's all I'm going to say now. **

It hadn't taken the police that long at all to arrive on the scene. However they'd been severely held up form finding Hercule by the sight of a short man with large spiky hair holding another man in a blue hoody with a severely broken arm up in the air by his throat, and yelling several profanities.

Yes, Vegeta had found the driver.

"Sir, put that man down, and place your hands behind your head!" shouted one officer.

"Hey, isn't that the guy who tried to kill those reporters? You know, Bulma Briefs husband?" whispered another officer

Vegeta merely snorted and dropped the clarity member he was holding onto. Another clarity member sauntered over, his back bent so he was walking with a major slouch. The police recognized the mask he was wearing and a group of them targeted them with their guns.

"So Mr Briefs is part of this Clarity organisation. It makes sense that a group capable of kidnapping Mr Satan would have the backing of a corporation as big as Capsule corp."

The police chief at the front seemed rather pleased with his completely wrong deduction. His smile was wiped of his face when Vegeta began yelling.

"HOW DARE YOU EVEN SUGGEST THAT I WOULD ASSOCIATE MYSELF WITH THESE WEAKLINGS! I CONSIDER THAT AN INSULT TO THE SAIYAN RACE!"

With all attention now on the irritated Saiyan race, the two clarity members decided now was the perfect time to make a run for it.

* * *

Gohan had just finished untying Hercule form his chair when the police burst in, led by a very irritated Vegeta.

"See, there's your moron champion, now leave me alone. I have to hunt down that driver again so I can castrate him," growled Vegeta, turning around and striding out of the large hole in the side of the room.

"Hey wait!" cried an officer, grabbing on to Vegeta's sleeve. Vegeta didn't seem to notice, just continued walking out of the room, dragging an officer behind him.

The room was in silence as they all watched the Saiyan prince leave. None of them seemed to want to follow him. Instead the officers were soon bustling around Hercule, trying to ask questions and securing the crime scene. An ambulance was called and Gohan was dragged away from a somewhat calmer Videl.

"Alright Kid, we don't know who you are but you've got some explaining to do," growled one officer. It seems that Gohan had been mistaken for one of the kidnappers.

"Hey wait!" called Videl, trying to get up and chase after Gohan. But a different officer was suddenly dragging her away telling her everything was going to be alright and generally not listening to her when she said she wanted Gohan back.

She tried to get to her father to tell him what was happening, but he the officer didn't seem to want to let her go.

"Let me go!" she screamed, but the man in the uniform didn't seem to be listening.

"Dad!" she tried instead. Her father was currently swamped in police officers, and medics were now flooding into the room. One of them marched right up to her and told the officer to take Videl outside to the ambulance that was waiting there. Hercule was also eventually asked to go outside and Gohan was dragged out separately, his protests of innocence ignored.

When Videl was dragged outside she gasped in shock. Police cars were everywhere along with masses of yellow tape everywhere along with several ambulances. But the truly scary thing was all the reporters now crowding behind the yellow tape. As soon as they saw Hercule exiting the building surrounded by police officers they began shouting questions.

"Mr Satan, what do you have to say about your brief kidnapping?"

"Do you have anything to say on the quick response time shown by the Satan city police?"

"Can you reveal the reasons behind your kidnapping?"

Hercule turned to address the reporters like the true showman he was, but Videl had more important things to worry about. Mainly the police who were leading a struggling Gohan away to a police car and trying to slap hand cuffs on his wrists."

"DADDY!" cried Videl, finally earning the attention of her father. She was pointing over at Gohan from her spot by an ambulance.

"They're trying to take Gohan away!" she cried, forcing her father to finally notice the injustice he'd failed to notice.

"YOU THERE STOP!" Shouted Hercule over the mike that had been shoved to his face. Pretty much everyone stopped and turned to face Hercule, who was now pointing at the police who were trying to tug Gohan away.

"That boy saved my life," he said, his voice amplified by the mike. "And more importantly the life of my daughter."

The police had frozen in the middle of trying to slap the other cuff onto Gohan's wrist. The reporters were also frozen into silence although they were now eyeing Gohan like he was a piece of juicy meat.

"I demand that you release him this second," growled Hercule, somehow managed to appear threatening despite the black eye and split lip. The police scrambled to do what Hercule asked, releasing Gohan from his cuffs and scurrying away from him, now embarrassed that they'd tried to arrest the saviour of Hercule.

Videl noticed the medics and officers were no longer paying any attention to her, so taking her chance she shrugged off the hand that was attached to her arm and ran as fast as she could towards Gohan. Pretty much forgetting about all the camera's aiming at the boy she flung her arms around his middle, almost knocking over the unsuspecting Saiyan.

It took her a full ten seconds to register the clicking sounds as photos were taken of her enveloping Gohan in a hug.

* * *

The story was all over the news for days. Hercule had explained how his daughter had found him, but was tired from a day of training. As such she was beaten by two fully grown men. He seemed bent on emphasizing this point. It was at this point that Gohan came in, catching their captors unaware and managing to defeat one of the men just before they managed to seriously hurt Videl. The rest of the story was pretty much made up, and consisted of Hercule finally regaining enough strength to break free off his bonds and force the remaining men to back off. They had then heard the police sirens and made a quick getaway. Vegeta was pretty much left out of the news, his presence being somewhat explained as Gohan's escort.

So now news reporters were clamouring to find out just who Gohan was. It eventually emerged in one day's news that he was the son of the ex-world martial arts champion Son Goku, although Gohan had no idea how they found that out. Of course there were also the pictures of Videl hugging him going around, which led to some pretty embarrassing headlines.

Luckily the news reporters never found out where Gohan lived, a secret Gohan was determined to keep.

The irony wasn't lost on Gohan. He'd allowed Hercule to take his credit for beating Cell so he could stay out of the limelight. Now he had been shoved back into the limelight for saving Hercule, the man who'd kept him out of the press in the first place.

Ever since the incident Gohan had been hiding out in Capsule corp. thanking kami every single day that the press didn't know he was here. He literally could not go out into the streets without getting swamped.

Videl and her father were recovering in hospital. She'd been pretty banged up by the clarity members, receiving some pretty nasty cuts from being smacked into a crate and a black eye from when she'd been back handed across the face. Hercule's condition was somewhat similar. Regardless the public had been assured they would make a full recovery.

Gohan couldn't help sighing to himself. It had been four days since the event, and the two Satan's were still in hospital. Apparently until security had been sufficiently beefed up at their mansion the two had been advised to stay put. This was all well and good, but Gohan was bored and he couldn't get anywhere near the hospital to see Videl without getting swamped by reporters. He struck him that he really missed her, even though it had only been four days. In a few days it would be Christmas Eve. Before then he had to see her to give her his Christmas present. He'd also got something small for Erasa and Sharpner on Bulma's advice. So deciding that he'd rather deal with the press than have to put up with this boredom any longer, he shouted to his mother that he was going out.

"Wow, I do not want to get into the middle of all that," said Gohan, the sound of his voice masked by the giant wall of loud reporters who were still lined up outside the hospital. He quietly snuck around them until he was behind the hospital, away from the prying eyes of the press. He closed his eyes as he searched for Videl's ki. Finally able to find it, he used his energy to allow himself to float upwards towards a window on the second highest floor. He looked inside to indeed see both Hercule and Videl, along with Erasa and Sharpner.

"Great," thought Gohan. Now how was he supposed to do this? He couldn't just knock on the window anymore. He'd have to explain to Erasa and Sharpner how he was able to get up there.

"Time for plan B," said Gohan aloud, and he floated up to the roof of the building. As he knew there would be, there was a door that he was happy to find unlocked. Gohan smiled to himself, now he just had to find the Satan's room again.

He headed carefully down the stairs hoping he wouldn't run into a nurse or a doctor or anything. No such luck.

"Hey you, what are you doing here?"

Gohan froze, turning to face the angry voice from behind him. There stood a blond nurse who looked to be about twenty. She was one of those legendary nurses who actually looked really cute. Not that Gohan was able to recognize that.

"Urrrm," he said, trying to come up with a reasonable excuse for being there. Luckily he didn't have too.

"Wait, aren't you that boy who saved Hercule, and is also dating his daughter?" She said, her tone of voice changing from angry to excited and bubbly.

Gohan was completely baffled by the woman's one eighty, so he couldn't from a coherent answer.

"You are! Oh I see you must have managed to avoid all those reporters and snuck in to see miss Satan right? Here you go I'll show where she is."

Before Gohan could protest, she grabbed into his arm and was pulling him along behind her.

"Here it is," she said, pulling him up to the room. There were two policemen standing outside it, ready to stop anyone getting too near.

"Yoohoo, I got another visitor for Videl Satan," said the nurse cheerily. The policemen eyed him sceptically before one of them seemed to recognize him.

He nodded his head to his partner, who poked his head into the room.

"Miss Satan, a boy here to see you. What's your name kid?" he asked, turning back to Gohan to ask the last question.

"G-Gohan."

"Name's Gohan. Should I send him away?"

Gohan managed to hear Videl's answer.

"Gohan's here? Send him in!"

He was somewhat surprised by the level of cheerfulness in Videl's voice but didn't have time to ponder on it, as the door was being held open and the security guard was beckoning him in. Gohan nervously stepped into the room, hearing the door slam behind him.

"Yo, brains it's been a while." Said Sharpner with a small wave, although Gohan noticed that he didn't actually look very happy to see him. Erasa however broke out into a smile so bright it almost hurt to look at her.

"Gohan!" she screamed, jumping at him and enveloping him in a big hug. "I can't believe you saved Mr Satan. You're so brave!"

Erasa was practically jumping up and down on her feet, arms locked around his neck while Gohan tried to push her off. After a good minute she finally released Gohan who was finally able to breath properly again.

"Hey Gohan, I was starting to think you weren't going to visit me. What with all the reporters outside and all."

Videl was smiling at him from her bed next to her father. Gohan couldn't help but smile back.

"Yeah, I had some major trouble sneaking in," he said. Well not really, but he couldn't admit that sneaking in had been as easy as flying up to the roof.

"Well, being the boy who rescued the world champion is somewhat of a big thing boy," said Hercule gruffly. "You're just going to have to learn to deal with all of those reporters. Especially if you intend to date my Videl."

The entire room seemed to react to this information differently. Gohan nearly tripped over his own feet, Videl blushed and squealed "DAD!", Erasa giggled and clapped her hands. Sharpner however didn't take it as well.

"No way. I realize that Brains here is really strong, and that he helped save you Mr Satan. But Videl likes me better. That hug didn't mean anything, she said so herself."

Erasa stopped staring to stare at Sharpner with an open mouth. Gohan gave him a peculiar look and Videl looked outraged.

"Sharpner, we've already had this discussion. I'm not going out with you. Ever. And dad, I don't think Gohan has any intention of dating me. We're only thirteen."

Hercule rose and eye at her, clearly showing that he didn't believe her one bit.

"Videl you seem to forget that I am your father. I know you better than anyone. It's not hard for me to see that you like this kid, and since he did save us both, I feel that I have no right to deny you my… blessings."

The tone of Hercules voice made it clear that he was still very uncomfortable with the idea of Videl ever having a boyfriend.

"Besides," said Hercule, deciding to continue. "Erasa has already told me that you two like each other. So there's no need to deny it."

Sharpner apparently had been forgotten by everyone in the room.

"ERASA DID WHAT!" bellowed Videl, outrage clear in her face, glaring daggers at her supposed best friend.

"Hey, it's true," said Erasa with a pout, not liking the look Videl was giving her. "You said you have a crush on Gohan. And it's kinda obvious that Gohan has one on you too."

The two teens in question turned beet red. This is not how Gohan imagined his hospital visit going.

Videl seemed lost for words. Even Sharpner seemed to have run out of protests and fell back into a chair instead with a miserable look on his face.

"But Videl's my girl," he muttered.

The whole room was in silence for a minute.

"Umm," said Gohan, deciding to break the silence. "I-I actually came here to give Videl her Christmas present," he said, walking over to her bed and dropping a capsule onto her lap with a red ribbon tied around it. "Here I got something for you two as well."

He gave Erasa a capsule with a yellow ribbon and Sharpner one with a blue ribbon.

"Wow, thanks Gohan," squealed Erasa excitedly.

"Yeah, thanks Gohan," said Videl, trying to give a smile and return her face to its normal colour at the same time. She was having difficulty smiling because now she was feeling guilty. With everything that had happened lately she'd completely forgotten to get Gohan's Christmas present. She'd gotten one for Sharpner and Erasa though.

Gohan nodded at her thanks and turned to the door.

"Umm, I'm gonna go now. I'll come back tomorrow okay."

Videl nodded weakly and Gohan gave her a small smile before disappearing out the door.

**Well guys, I'm moving back home today. Which is great because I've really missed my Dog and my siblings and all those other people who really annoy me yet I miss them as soon as they're gone. Well like I said, hopefully this should be the last chapter I do without a beta. So that being said I can't promise when the next chapter is going to come out. Could be tomorrow or it could be later. We'll all have to see. R&R **


	22. Invitation from Rice

**Hi everybody. Back with another update. As A-man pointed out, I didn't do a very good job with Vegeta last chapter. I am trying to wheedle him into the story, but I can't have him oppose Clarity too much, because he would definitely kill them all. That being said I do have some interesting plans for Vegeta, once I learn to write him properly. **

**Well let's get onto business. I want you all to welcome my new as well as first ever beta, Silver-chan. So with Silver-chan cleaning up future chapters and me cleaning up old ones (slowly but surely) this story should soon stop pissing of random people with its bad grammar and spelling. So let's all give a nice welcoming round of applause for Silver-chan.**

**(Honestly clapping)**

**As the first chapter that she's beta's I also let her name the chapter, so I just want to point out that she seems to have a better naming sense than me. **

**Disclaimer: Dragonball Z is property of Akira Toriyama. For now…**

Christmas was, in Vegeta's opinion, a completely horrible holiday. It wasn't necessarily the fact that gifts were exchanged and everyone was supposed to be happy that irked him. Rather it was the constant cheeriness and the expectation for him to give a damn about it. And what's more, on Christmas day all of the idiots came here, to _his _home, and would become a major nuisance all day. But the worst thing about Christmas, the absolute worst thing… no training.

That's right. His wife bands him from training. This single act showed just how horrible, how twisted and evil she really was. There was a reason he loved her.

Well Christmas wasn't all bad though. He could already feel his mouth watering at the thought of the feast that Kakarot's banshee would cook up on the day. That single day a year where she would cook this feast was the one single reason he tolerated her presence. That and if he killed her he'd probably have to answer to her oldest brat. Not that he was scared of Gohan, just that Gohan could easily kill him. So there were really two reasons, only he would never admit the second reason to anyone. So technically, only one official reason.

Vegeta growled to himself. Tomorrow he wouldn't be allowed to train at all. So he'd better make the best of it today. But if that was the case he'd need a good training partner. Someone who could push him to his limits. Luckily, one such person was currently free loading in his house.

Vegeta gave a grin.

"BRAT, WHERE ARE YOU!"

The shout echoed throughout the whole house. Vegeta began plodding through the house, searching for the eldest brat and repeating his shout. Eventually, he figured that Gohan was not within the white walls of Capsule Corp. Growling, he shut his eyes and let his senses reach out. It didn't take him long to find Gohan.

Vegeta quickly exited Capsule Corp. and slowly levitated himself until he was atop the domed building. For there in the middle of the roof, sat Gohan. Vegeta couldn't help the low growl of annoyance that escaped from his throat.

Gohan was sitting there with a strange look on his face, his legs crossed and his right arm supporting his chin. A small layer of snow covered his shoulders and tousled his hair showing that he'd been there a while. The slow fall of snowflakes made it a rather wistful Saiyan, and as far as Vegeta was concerned it was a scene no self-respected Saiyan should ever be involved in.

"Brat, what the hell are you doing out here?" Vegeta barked, snapping Gohan out of his trance.

"Now get your sorry ass up so we can go train," he said. Gohan just sighed.

"Vegeta, I'm not in the mood," said Gohan, his eyes flicking up to Vegeta then back out to the area in front of him.

This did not sit well with Vegeta. Since when was there a time when a Saiyan wasn't in the mood for fighting?!

"Then I suggest you get in the mood brat," growled Vegeta, landing next to the young Saiyan with his arms crossed. "Tomorrow neither of us will be allowed to train at all. As such, we must make the best of our time now. So get up and we shall go train."

Gohan gave Vegeta an annoyed look, causing Vegeta to raise an eyebrow.

"I said I'm not in the mood Vegeta. If you want to go train, then just do it by yourself."

Vegeta snarled but still didn't move away from the young demi saiyan.

"Why?"

Gohan looked up at him in some surprise.

"Why what?"

Vegeta sighed.

"Why aren't you… in the mood?"

Gohan frowned at him. Since when had Vegeta shown interest in anything other than training? Well to be fair, he had a few times, but those few times were usually spaced several months apart.

"I got… something on my mind," Gohan answered, sitting up straighter to look up at Vegeta.

"Then come train and get your mind off it" Vegeta suggested. Gohan gave a slight chuckle, causing Vegeta to scowl.

"Vegeta, how did you know that you… liked… Bulma?" asked Gohan, raising his head to look up into Vegeta's eyes.

Vegeta seemed rather taken aback by the question. And then he smirked.

* * *

Chi-Chi couldn't help but notice that Gohan looked rather sickly. She had no idea why. He'd just walked through the Capsule Corp. front doors with that sick look on his face and Vegeta following shortly afterwards and wearing an evil smirk.

Gohan sat down at the table and simply sat there not making a word. Vegeta however immediately headed over to the fridge to grab something to eat.

"Vegeta, what have you done to my son?" asked Chi-Chi, giving the man a death glare out of the corner of her eyes.

"I have done nothing to the brat," answered Vegeta, grabbing a bottle of milk and downing the entire thing in a second before turning back to Chi-Chi. "He simply asked me a question, and I answered."

"Right," said Chi-Chi, her free hand slowly reaching for a large frying pan to the side. The action did not escape the notice of Vegeta.

'Crap,' he thought. 'I need a distraction.'

Luckily he had just the thing to distract Kakarot's harpy with.

"Although, it looks like your brat has a crush on the Satan brat," he quickly said, noticing with some satisfaction that Chi-Chi's hand immediately moved away from the frying pan to cup her face along with the other one.

"Really? Ohh my little boy's finally growing up. In four or five years the two can get married and then after that I'll have grandchildren and it will all be perfect!"

Vegeta, happy with the harpy's change of attitude, decided to beat a quick get-a-way. Leaving poor Gohan to deal with his mother, who was quickly getting ahead of herself.

"Wait Mom! Me and Videl are not like that! Mom?"

Chi-Chi who clearly was not listening to him, was residing in her own little fantasy world.

"Mom! Snap out of it please!"

Gohan got scared when Chi-Chi got like this. The only time she was worse than she is now, was when she was wielding her frying pan.

"Oh Gohan, I'm so happy for you!" squealed Chi-Chi, grabbing her son in a big hug. "Videl's coming to the Christmas party tomorrow, right Gohan?"

"Eh."

"The Christmas party tomorrow." Suddenly Chi-Chi's smile turned upside down and she fixed her son with a glare. "You DID invite her didn't you?"

"Errr…"

Gohan had completely forgotten about the Christmas party they had every year. He was too busy trying to decide whether or not to visit Videl today. She'd been released from the hospital and was back at home with her father. After what had happened at the hospital, he had a little trouble looking at her in the eye now.

"Son Gohan you will march right over to her house right now and invite her too the Christmas party," barked Chi-Chi, pointing fixedly at the door.

Gohan didn't budge.

"NOW!" she shouted, grabbing the large frying pan off to her side.

"Yes mom."

Gohan was up and out the door at record pace.

Gohan couldn't help but groan from his hiding place. What were the media doing here _now?_ He'd come all the way to the Satan mansion only to see a news van and a whole news crew outside the mansion gates.

'Great,' thought Gohan, 'If I try to go in through the front door now I'll get eaten alive by those reporters. Looks like I'm going to have to sneak in there somehow.'

So doing his best to remain unnoticed Gohan made to sneak around to the side of the mansion and jump over the wall. Only problem is that security had been seriously beefed up since the last time he'd been here. There were now security guards stationed pretty much everywhere outside the mansion. Luckily for him, the human race had evolved in such a way that they never bothered to defend from the sky. So with that thought in mind, Gohan found a nice secluded place so he could take to the air. He floated over the mansion walls unnoticed, smiling as he did so.

Closing his eyes he felt for Videl's ki, finding it in her room. Slowly he descended until he was outside her window. He was going to knock on the window until he noticed a movement beneath him. Glancing down, he was a little irked to find two more body guards stationed beneath Videl's window.

Today just was not his day.

Well now he needed a new plan. There was only one thing he could do. Float outside her window and hope she noticed him. She definitely would eventually. It's not often you see someone hovering outside your window. So not giving it a second thought Gohan floated until he was directly in front of Videl's window. He instantly noticed Videl in the midst of changing her clothes. Apparently she'd just gotten out of the shower and was in the midst of putting on her clean shirt.

Gohan actually fell out the air. Luckily he was able to grab onto Videl's windowsill before he disturbed the security guards below. Instead Gohan pulled himself back up so his head was back in front of the window.

And also within the view of a very angry looking Videl. She seemed to be cracking her knuckles.

Before Gohan could tell what was happening, the window had been yanked open and Videl had grabbed the collar of his jumper and pulled him inside with a rough yank, causing him to fall painfully to her floor. Then she slammed her window shut.

"Okay Gohan, what did you see?" said Videl, turning to glare at the demi Saiyan sprawled on her floor.

"I didn't see anything at all," said Gohan, picking himself up off the floor. "Honestly, your shirt was already mostly on, the only thing that wasn't covered was your stomach."

Gohan's face had turned a very nice shade of red, and was trying to avoid eye contact with Videl.

Because she was such a nice and understanding person, Videl decided to give Gohan the benefit of the doubt. Not like he knew how to lie anyway. So instead she placed her hands on her hips and gave Gohan a suspicious look.

"Why are you here Gohan, and why didn't you just ring the front door like you normally do?"

"Umm, I'm here to invite you to a Christmas party, and I couldn't come through the front door because there are reporters out there, and I wanted to avoid them."

Videl tilted her head at him.

"You're going to have to face them at some point Gohan," Videl told him. "And the sooner you do, the better. Eventually they'll get bored of you, people will forget about you and everything will be alright again."

Gohan tilted his head at her.

"What about the Christmas party?" he asked, deciding to mull over Videl's advice on the media, but at least put it off until after Christmas.

"What time is it?" asked Videl, sounding somewhat impatient, breaking Gohan out of his musings.

"Err," he looks at his watch. "Ten past two."

Videl rolled her eyes.

"I mean what time is the Christmas party?"

"Oh," said Gohan. "Everyone's expected to be there by twelve. And it's at Capsule Corp. if it wasn't obvious."

Videl nodded. She'd never doubted the location so she hadn't even bothered to ask.

"Right. Well I can come for a bit, but I got to leave by five. Daddy's doing a speech addressing world peace or something, and telling everyone how we're all able to enjoy ourselves this Christmas because he beat Cell. And apparently I have to be there so that he looks like a family man."

Gohan could honestly say he was speechless. Videl noticed this and a small giggle escaped her lips.

"Yeah, he does a speech like this every year."

Gohan managed to shake himself out of his stupefied state.

"Soo, you'll come for a bit then?"

Videl rolled her eyes up to make it appear as if she was thinking, hoping to make Gohan sweat a bit. It seemed to work as a worried frown appeared on his face.

"Yeah sure, I can make an appearance. Buy you're going to have to come pick me up. My Dad's does not like me out of the house by myself, but he shouldn't mind if you're there. There shouldn't be any reporters out here until a few hours before my Dad's set to make his speech either."

Gohan nodded his head.

"Okay then, I can do that."

* * *

Meanwhile, in the darkness of another warehouse on the opposite side of the city to the last one, the entirety of Clarity was sitting around each other. All together there were thirteen of them, twelve of them sitting around the man in the golden mask. One of them had his arm in a sling. For a moment there was silence.

"Why are we not doing anything?" one man asked. This man in particular seemed to be constantly fidgeting with his hands and feet.

"Because it's Christmas eve," answered the golden leader. "Do you want to spend your Christmas away from family, spending the time trying to kidnap Hercule Satan again?"

There was some mutterings among the group, mostly of agreement, although one familiar voice spoke up.

"I believe Christmas to be the perfect time to reveal the truth to the public. It is, after all a time of new beginnings," came the voice of Peter.

More muttering among the group until another voice spoke up.

"Dude, you seriously need to stop using the word truth in all your sentences. I in particular, have no plans of working over the holidays."

More muttering, with a few laughs this time around.

"I for one agree with Iscariot." said the happy voice of the golden leader. "We have done much over the last few weeks. Besides the public dislike us enough already. Let's not ruin their holiday."

"I'm sorry, I'm just confused," said Matty, raising his non-broken hand. "Are we an evil group or not?"

"More like a revolutionary group," answered one of the two men who had a face on their mask.

"So it kind of depends how you look at it," came a female Voice. "We do naughty stuff but hopefully get a goody conclusion."

"Okay, between Pete and Jude I cannot decide whose style of talking is more annoying," said Iscariot, earning a few chuckles from the rest of the Clarity members.

"Perhaps, but you cannot deny the truth that you are the most annoying one in general," came Pete's mocking reply.

"See there you go again."

"What about the kid?"

This voice came from the man who sat next to Matty. His knees were being hugged to his chest and he barely raised his head when he spoke, his eyes remaining glued to the floor.

"Ah yes!" exclaimed the golden masked leader, suddenly sounding very happy. "Our prime lead. According to the newspaper he is the child of Son Goku, who as you all know, I am a massive fan off. After the holidays, we'll definitely have to find the kid and have a talk with him. Hopefully he should be able to _clarify _a few things for us."

More group mutterings.

"So it is agreed. We will have the week off, then come back afterwards. Although I would still like you to do research into the locations and techniques of our targets. As you have all seen, the Solar Flare technique was rather useful. Perhaps I shall teach it to you when we return. You are all dismissed."

There were clamouring sounds as the group members all stood up and left, all exiting the warehouse through different exits until only Gold mask was left.

"Father."

Now a second figure emerged from the shadows. Unlike the others this was a young man, and the mask he wore was silver.

"Yes son?" answered the older man, still sounding rather happy.

"Are we really not going to do anything tomorrow?"

The Golden masked leader let out a laugh.

"Of course we are. So tell me son, have you succeeded in convincing him yet?"

"No," replied the boy. "He keeps telling me that I sound boring."

Gold Mask gave a sigh.

"Keep trying. Try to get him interested. Find out what ticks him off."

"Yes father." said the young man.

Finally Gold Mask stood up and turned to face his son.

"You know, I didn't expect things to precede this smoothly. I thought at least one of us would be dead by now."

"That's a little morbid," snorted the young man.

"Yes I suppose it is. Well luckily the boy seems to be a little soft. Otherwise I might be dead by now."

Gold Mask was calmly walking away now, ready to leave the complex.

"Were you scared father?"

Gold Mask stopped. The door was open in front of him, allowing a beam of sunlight to reveal his figure as he turned to speak to his son.

"Terrified," he answered, his voice drenched in excitement, without a hint of shame. "But even so, you cannot imagine how it felt to stand in front of that boy. His very aura was suffocating. It's for this reason I haven't taught them to sense Ki you know. If Bart had been capable of feeling what I felt, I do not think he would have had the courage to attack."

Gold Mask turned back towards the door, ready to step out into the sun again.

"In front of such terrifying power, staring death in the face and knowing that he could kill you with a flick of his wrist."

Gold Masks voice turned wistful.

"I have not once in my life ever felt more alive than in that moment."

**Woohoo, Chapters done. No fighting, but there can't be every chapter. Sadly I don't think there'll be much next chapter either, but it should still be quite entertaining on its own. **

**ON another note, last chapter reached 89 reviews! Don't know how I personally thought it was a bad chapter which took me a stupid amount of time to write due to writers block which has currently not yet faded. So far it is my personal goal to reach a hundred reviews for a single chapter. Now I don't expect this chapter to be able to accomplish that, but you guys just wait. I'll write a chapter so good soon it'll knock all your socks off!**


	23. Christmas dinner with a serving of Rice

**Well guys I'm back with chapter 23. Would have updated yesterday, but I took my Sister to the fair instead of writing on Tuesday, then I went out for a family meal. So this means I was writing until nine on Wednesday. So that means that, just as GohanFanfics likes to request, I'VE DONE A LONG CHAPTER. Been a while since I've done one of these. Well before I press on with the chapter, I thought I'd let Silver-Chan say a few words. Probably should have done this last chapter, but you know what, better late than never. So without further ado, here's silver-Chan**

* * *

**Hi guys! This is Silver-Chan (SSJ2 Silven, for anyone wondering or that just love me ;P) I would like to say that I have enjoyed reading this fic **_**very**_** much and I'm **_**very **_**excited to become a part of it. I'm that little beta person that will check over all the mistakes and errors and correct them to give readers the best quality. I want to personally thank AnisoulJ93 for letting me be a part of this! I love you readers! **

* * *

**Everyone clap Silver-Chan for her kind heart felt words. I did give her permission to rip the shit out of me if she wanted. Kind of happy to see she didn't do that.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own DragonballZ just yet. Working on it though.**

Videl furrowed her brow. Gohan was going to be here in less than an hour and she was still debating what to wear. It wasn't often she hadn't moments like this, where she reverted to being a troubled female. In fact, this was pretty much the first time. Usually if she had to dress up, she would complain loudly then let Cari pick a dress for her. Sadly that wasn't going to… wait a second, of course it would work this time!

"Cari!" Videl shouted out her door. Ten second later the middle aged gentlemen was standing to attention outside of her door, a small smile being worn on his lips.

"Yes miss?" he asked, chest stuck out with pride and ready to help in anyway necessary.

"Could you come help me pick a dress please?" she asked.

Cari's eyes widened a bit, but other than that he didn't show any form of surprise at all. Instead he just calmly answered, "of course miss."

Videl smiled at him and moved backwards allowing him to step into her room. Cari allowed his eyes to wonder so he could take in some of the changes. He noticed an _actual _bottle of perfume on top of her dresser. He also noticed a set of strange clothes on her bed.

"What are these clothes for miss," he asked allowing his curiosity to get the best of him. There were four sets of the same clothes, but each one in a different colour. There was a red set, a blue set, a yellow set and a black set. Each set contained a vest with wristbands and also a pair of dark blue boots with trimming coloured the same as their respective set.

"Gohan's Christmas present," she said, smiling fondly at the clothes. A note had come with them telling her he wasn't sure with colour she'd like best so he'd just given her all of them. She was also rather fond of the boots that came with the set. They didn't look too different from her own boots. The note also said these clothes were slightly heavier than the weighted clothing she already had.

"They're training clothes," she told Cari.

Cari nodded.

"I see," he said. Then he turned away from the set of clothes to face her. "And for what purpose is Miss Videl dressing up today? I was under the impression you were not fond of dresses.

"I'm not," she answered, carefully avoiding looking into Cari's eyes. "It's just that I've been invited to a Christmas party, and it's at Capsule Corp. so I thought I should try to look nice for a change."

Cari smiled as he noticed the small blush grace her cheeks.

"I see. And is the young Master Gohan going to be there also?" he inquired, noticing with some satisfaction as her blush grew.

"Y-Yeah, he is" she answered, fully turning her head away from him. She definitely knew what that grin on Cari's face meant, and she did not like it one bit.

"I see. Well, no doubt your father has presented several new dresses for you this year, as he does every year. And I am confident you cannot have destroyed all of them yet," said Cari cheerfully.

Videl nodded.

"Actually, I haven't gotten around to destroying any of them yet," she said with a frown.

"Excellent," said Cari, his eyes twinkling. "Then perhaps we could select something from there. How about you show me miss."

Videl groaned. She really didn't want to wear any of the dressed her father brought for her. They were all hideous, and she had no idea why he always brought some for her anyway.

"Fine," she moaned, opening her wardrobe before pulling out several pieces of fabric she'd simply dumped into the bottom. She hadn't even bothered to hang them up.

Cari carefully put the training clothes that Gohan had gotten for her to one side before placing down each of dresses that Videl had pulled out the bottom of her wardrobe. Some of them he had to say, should _never_ have been made. He just couldn't see how a dress that shade of yellow could look good on anyone. However one dress did catch his attention. A simple yet shimmering gown that was the exact same shade of blue as Videl's eyes.

'Perfect,' he thought whilst smiling to himself.

"How about this one," said Cari happily, pulling up the dress for her to see. But Videl grimaced.

"But it's all shiny," she said, squinting at the dress. "I'll be lit up brighter than the decorations."

Cari frowned. Guess she didn't like it much.

"I think it's rather fetching," he said, hoping to convince her otherwise. But Videl was having none of it.

"Look, I don't think they're into the whole ball gown thing anyway. It's more like a family and friends party you know."

Cari gave a sad sigh before placing the dress back down.

"If you say so miss. Then perhaps something a bit more informal then a dress is needed miss."

Videl thought on it.

"Yeah, but I still want to look like I've made an effort," she told him, looking down sadly at the floor.

Cari smiled down at her.

"Then I believe I have just the thing for you miss."

* * *

Gohan tugged nervously at his shirt collar. He didn't wear stuff like this very often. He was wearing a dark blue buttoned up shirt and brown jeans. Bulma had insisted he undo the top two buttons of his shirt, and for the walk to Videl's he'd put on a large black coat. He walked silently to the Mr Satan's mansion before reaching the buzzer just outside the gate.

Videl had been right, there were no reporters here yet, although he had no doubt there would be in an hour or so.

Gohan stepped up to the buzzer and hit the button that somehow alerted the residents of the mansion he was here. Not ten seconds later, Cari's voice came from the buzzer.

"Hello, this is the Satan residence, how may I help you," came Cari's cheery voice.

"Umm, it's Gohan. I'm supposed to pick Videl up," Gohan answered back, as he pressed the button that allowed his voice to be heard.

"Ah yes, Miss Videl told me you were coming. Hang on for a second."

There was a moment of silence and then the gate started to open. Gohan happily walked through until he reached the front door of the mansion and knocked. The door was immediately opened by Cari, who looked down happily at him. He was dressed in his usual Butler clothes with the small difference of a Santa hat sitting atop his slightly greying hair.

"Good morning Sir," said Cari happily allowing Gohan to step inside. "And a Merry Christmas to you."

Gohan nodded back happily.

"Merry Christmas to you too Cari. Get anything nice?"

Cari smiled and nodded, before holding out the green designer tie he was wearing.

"The young miss was kind enough to get me this lovely tie. And Mr Satan has allowed me the afternoon off as well."

Gohan nodded.

"That's good" said Gohan, giving the butler a heartfelt smile. He was fond of Cari. The man fed him and always managed to make him feel welcome.

"The young miss will be down in a minute," Cari told him. "Now I must go and finish dinner for Mister Satan. He had to leave this morning but he shall be returning soon and I have no doubt that he shall be expecting a small feast upon his return."

Gohan nodded in understanding to the butler, who in turn offered Gohan one last smile before bowing and striding off towards the kitchens.

Gohan's wait was short as less than a minute later Videl came bounding down the stairs before stopping in front of him a smiling.

"Merry Christmas Gohan," she said cheerily, offering him a large grin. Gohan smiled back and was about to return the greetings when he caught sight of what Videl was wearing.

She wore white tank top with a denim skirt along with some black tights under the skirt which disappeared into a pair of dark boots. To top it all of her hair was braided.

Videl frowned when she caught the look on his face.

"What's wrong?" she asked, looking into Gohan's eyes and causing him to blush slightly.

"You're a girl," he answered, not really thinking about what he just said. Then he noticed the growing scowl on her face and mentally kicked himself.

"I mean, you always wear like really boyish baggy clothes, but now you're wearing girl clothes and It just reminded me that you're a girl," he tried to explain. But apparently the explanation didn't help.

"You mean that you _forgot _I was a girl," she growled in a low, threatening voice, taking a step towards him, her eyes glaring at him with a look of pure rage.

"No, no I didn't, it's just that your wearing something girly, and I was so used to you not wearing anything girly, but now you are and I couldn't help but think that you look really nice in those clothes," Gohan said quickly as Videl slowly approached. His back hit the wall, and he closed his eyes, waiting for the vicious punch from Videl to come. Strange how in times of panic he could forget there's not a force on the earth that could actually hurt him.

After a few seconds though, Videl's vicious assault never came, and Gohan creaked an eye open. Videl had stopped her advance and the outraged look in her eyes had completely disappeared, to be replaced by a look of surprise. Her cheeks were tinged red and she blinked a few times.

"You think I look nice?" she asked, her voice barely slightly disbelieving.

Gohan opened both eyes now that he was sure he wasn't in any danger.

"Yeah," he admitted, nervously scratching the back of his head.

Videl grinned at him.

"Well alright then, let's go."

She quickly left a dumbfounded Gohan standing by the wall as she went to retrieve her white coat, scarf and hat. She returned moments later wearing all three items.

"Come on then," she said, before opening the front door and striding out. Gohan, who still hadn't recovered from Videl's complete mood change from vicious to happy a few moments ago, simply followed. As he exited the house, he once ago came to a very correct conclusion.

'It doesn't matter how much I study up on this, I am never going to understand girls. They are just too complicated. '

* * *

The walk back to Capsule Corp. was uneventful, except for Videl who seemed very happy with herself and was humming to herself as she walked. Gohan was trailing along behind her, just as confused as before. Eventually, he decided it was Christmas spirit that was making her so happy. Nothing else made sense to him.

The two quickly made it back to Capsule corp. where Bulma was more than happy to receive them.

"Videl," she squealed, grabbing the young girl into a hug before she could protest. "Merry Christmas! We're all really happy you could come. Dinner's in an hour but almost everyone is here already. So fell free to socialize. And Gohan don't you dare leave her on her own."

Bulma eyes him with a mock glare, before quickly releasing Videl, who still hadn't had a chance to say anything, and marching off back down the hall.

"Well that was interesting," said Videl, as she watched the heiress go. Gohan nodded in agreement, before taking his coat off and hanging it on a waiting rack near the door. It had been placed there especially for the occasion. Videl followed suit, also taking off her coat, hat and scarf and placing them all on the rack. She smiled once at Gohan before grabbing his sleeve and dragging him along.

"Is everyone outside again?" she asked him, as she dragged her along. Gohan shook his head.

"They're all in the main room," he told her. "It's this way."

Then he walked past her, forcing her to let go off his sleeve and follow him. It didn't take long for Gohan to lead her to the main room, which was decorated with plenty of tinsel and stockings and whatever else lining the walls. She also found a lot of the people she met last time here, along with a few she hadn't.

Krillin and Eighteen were both there, Krillin chatting to her excitedly about something, and although Eighteen was trying to pass it off as though she didn't particularly care what Krillin was talking about, a small smile tugging at her lips proved otherwise. Yamcha and Master Roshi were laughing over in a corner, both of them with a beer in hand. Yamcha's floating cat Puar was also there, talking to a pig that was standing upright and wearing a shirt and jeans along with a large old looking turtle. Videl turned away from the odd sight to spot three new comers. A man who she recognized as Tien Shinhan, the winner of the world martial arts tournament before Goku was leaning against a wall in all his three eyes glory along with a short sickly white boy… man? Videl squinted. Whoever it was had ghost white skin, wide eyes and red cheeks that reminded her of Pikachu. Maybe he was a Pokémon?

Videl shook away her rude thought before looking around the rest of the room. A small table over in the corner with all of the drinks caught her eye when the hem of the table cloth rustled. From beneath the table came Trunks, who quickly stood up to watch the two year old Goten crawl out from under the table too. She noticed that Trunks seemed to be staggering and had a really large grin plastered across his face. Goten was clapping and laughing as he watched trunks wobble round. Videl's eyes widened as she noticed the half empty bottle in Trunk's hand.

"Gohan," she screeched, grabbing his sleeve and tugging to get his attention. "Look at Trunks!"

Gohan looked over to Trunks and saw exactly what Videl saw. His mouth actually widened in horror.

"Please Dende, for all that it holy and good, do _not_ tell me that Trunks is drunk."

Videl furrowed her brow.

"Who's Dende?" she asked.

Gohan waved her off though.

"You'll meet him later," he told her. "But for now, let's go get Trunks away from the alcohol."

Videl nodded, deciding that the situation at hand was far more important than interrogating Gohan. They quickly made their way over to the two you boys.

Trunks spotted them, and could already tell they were going to take his drink off him. After all, Mommy always told him he wasn't allowed these kinds of drinks until he was an adult. So he did the only thing he could think of.

"Run!" he screamed to Goten before taking off. He got all the way to the door before he looked behind him to see that Goten was slowly making his way to his feet. But he didn't manage more than a few yards before he was scooped up by Videl.

Realising his friend was lost, Trunks decided to abandon Goten and save himself. For now.

"I'll be back for you Goten!" he yelled, not noticing Gohan who was slowly creeping up on him. He turned to run out the door, only to find Gohan in his way.

"Give up Trunks, and give me the bottle," said Gohan, reaching out to him.

Trunks glanced behind him, noticing that Videl was quickly closing in, still holding Goten in her arms. Then he looked down to the bottle he held in his tiny hands before looking back to Gohan.

"You'll never take me alive!" roared Trunks, before bolting off to the side. His shout also attracted the attention of everyone else in the room too. Soon they all noticed the purple haired chibi and his bottle of Stella.

"My god, Trunks has got a bottle of Stella!" screamed Krillin. Then, "Oh, hey Gohan."

Gohan nodded to the monk who now had short spiky black hair before zooming past him in pursuit of Trunks. The chase didn't last long as the three year old Trunk's, in his drunken state tripped over his feet, launching into several rolls before slamming into the wall in a daze. He was soon surrounded by Gohan, Videl and Krillin.

"Oh Videl, you're here too. It's great to see you again," said Krillin cheerfully. "You and Gohan a couple yet?"

Videl, who was still holding a laughing and clapping Goten, went bright red.

"NO!" she yelled.

Trunk's eyes his quarry wearily. He realised that he could no longer escape with his drink. The only way he was going to get out of this was if he gave up the drink.

"Fine, have it!" yelled Trunks, drawing everyone's attention back to him. Then he threw the bottle hard through the air. Videl dodged to the side as the bottle went spinning past her.

The entire room watched as it went spinning though the air towards the door which was slowly opening.

The bottle was caught in a green hand as a large figure appeared in the doorway and entered the room.

"Piccolo!" called Gohan happily as he ran up to greet his old mentor. Trunks took the distraction as a chance to escape, quickly fleeing back to his hiding place beneath the table, noticed only by Goten.

"How you doing kid," said the large Namekian, as Gohan approached. He ruffled Gohan's hair fondly, before raising his stare above Gohan's head, locking his eyes onto Videl who was slowly approaching.

Videl had seen the large green man before, and knew that Gohan adored him. Even knowing that, she couldn't help but feel a little uncomfortable under his gaze.

"Um, hello," she said a little meekly.

"Hi," said Piccolo flatly.

"Umm, nice to see you again," Videl tried again.

Piccolo just nodded before turning back to Gohan.

"So, is she your female now?" asked Piccolo with an entirely straight face.

Both Gohan and Videl went red.

"No!" they both said at the same time.

Piccolo raised an eyebrow.

"Well I think you look like a nice little family," came another voice.

Then what looked like a smaller more cheerful Piccolo walked through the door.

"Dende!" Gohan exclaimed happily at the sight of his friend, completely missing what he'd just said.

"Hi Gohan," said Dende. "You know, with you two standing next to each other all close, and Videl holding Goten like that, you really do look like a married couple."

When Gohan and Videl turned to face each other, they went a completely new shade of red then turned away without saying a word to the other.

"Not you too Dende," said Gohan. "Besides we're only thirteen, that's way too young to have kids."

Dende gave a chuckle.

"Yeah, but you're not too young to tease about it," he said happily. Then he turned to face Videl.

"And you must be Videl Satan right. I heard a lot about you. My name is Dende. I'm a friend of Gohan's," he said, extending a bright green hand.

Videl slowly took it and shook. But then she noticed something strange. Unlike Piccolo, Dende was not wearing a turban. This meant that the two antennas on his head were on full display.

"Gohan, is he an alien," Videl asked, not taking her eyes off the two twitching antenna.

Gohan decided the best way to answer that question was as if it wasn't that big of a deal.

"Yup," answered Gohan, keeping his voice as casual as possible.

"Uh huh," answered Videl, not really believing it.

Dende just smiled at her.

"It was nice to meet you Videl."

And with that, he walked off to go say hello to Krillin and Eighteen. For some reason Krillin seemed to be thanking Dende for something, and Gohan noticed an actual smile grace Piccolo's lips as he could no doubt hear what they were talking about.

Gohan decided he'd find out later.

"Are you staying for dinner Piccolo?" asked Gohan hopefully. But Piccolo shook his head.

"I can only drink water. Besides, Dende can't spend too long down here. Christmas is a busy time of year. Christmas miracles and all that" Piccolo answered with a strained voice.

Gohan nodded.

"Alright then. Thanks for coming Piccolo. I don't see you that much anymore," said Gohan a little sadly.

Piccolo smirked down at him.

"That's because you don't come visit me anymore Kid."

Gohan nodded before offering Piccolo a bright grin.

"I'll come visit more often then," he said happily.

Piccolo nodded before heading over to the drink table. He placed the half empty bottle of beer down then grabbed a glass and filled it with water from a large pitcher.

Then they watched as he crouched down and quickly hauled Trunks out from under the table. He had another bottle of Stella that was already half empty. He downed the water in one, took the bottle from Trunks, then walked back past them and out of the door, still holding Trunks. No doubt he was on his way to turn in the little terror to his mother. A moment later the two teens heard the yelling of Bulma Briefs, confirming their theory.

For the next half an hour, Videl went around and spoke to the various people there. She revealed that she now knew that her Father didn't defeat Cell and that she knew that Gohan was the delivery boy. However when she tried to interrogate people on who dealt Cell the finishing blow, Gohan made an X sign with his arms behind her. Luckily they all managed to pick up that this meant no telling.

So when they were all called into the dining room, Videl came in with a rather frustrated frown. However that was quickly changed as she noticed the large dinner table set up in the middle of the room. It was round and large enough to accommodate all of them. At least two dozen plates were set up and everyone began sitting down. Goten was in a high chair next to his mother, who had been in the kitchen up until then. Gohan sat down next to his mother, and Videl next to him. The seat next to her was taken by Eighteen and then Krillin. On the other side of Goten was Trunks, who looked a lot more sober than he did half an hour ago. Next to him was Bulma and then, of course, a scowling Vegeta. Tien sat next to him and then Chiatzu. Mr and Mrs Briefs were next and then Puar, Oolong, Master Roshi and finally Yamcha was next to Krillin.

Piccolo and Dende also briefly entered the dining room, but only to say goodbye. There was a lot of goodbye's and Merry Christmas and several other farewells. Gohan stood up again to shake Dende's hand and gave Piccolo a quick hug. Videl noticed with interest as the large green Namekian's cheeks went a little red with embarrassment. Apparently he wasn't used to public displays of affection.

Finally the two were gone and Christmas dinner was ready.

Everyone went silent as Bulma stood up and clapped.

Several robots came in, finding their targets and setting down individual plates of food in front of people depending on their preference. Videl couldn't arching and eyebrow as several platters of fully roasted turkeys were set down in front of Gohan along with several bowels of roast potato's carrots and everything else you'd find in a Christmas dinner. She noticed that Vegeta got a similar amount and that although smaller Goten and Trunks also got larger feasts than everyone else.

"Okay everyone," shouted Bulma, dragging everyone's attention away from the food. "I think we all owe Chi-Chi a big thank you for cooking all of this!"

A large chorus of thank you Chi-Chi went around, causing the older woman to blush. Videl found herself joining in, hardly able to believe that Chi-Chi was actually capable of single handily making everything here.

'Even Cari could learn something from her,' she thought.

"Before we all dig in, I just wanted to say a few words. Christmas is a time for family and friends to come together, and celebrate the fact that we're all here. After everything we've all been through, I think we can appreciate life better than most. But it also means that I can't help remember the one person who isn't here, that we all miss and love. And he's probably the most important person of all. I'll be honest, it seems like only yesterday that I first found Goku all alone up in that mountain. But it was because of that little boy from all those years ago, that we're all here together now. So I'd like to propose a toast. Merry Christmas Goku, wherever you are. To Goku!"

She raised her glass of wine in time with everyone else. Everyone echoed her, even Videl who'd never met Goku.

"To Goku," they all said in unison.

"To Dad!" said Gohan, raising his glass of squash.

"Dada!" yelled Goten cheerfully, waving his bottle in the air and somehow knowing who everyone was talking about. Everyone turned to face the one person who didn't toast.

Vegeta scowled at all the eyes that were on him. Eventually however he relented.

"To Kakarot," he said, briefly raising his wine into the air before taking a long sip. Bulma smiled at him.

"And now, before we all tuck in, I'd like us all to say grace," said Bulma, quickly grabbing Vegeta's and Trunk's hands. Vegeta however yanked his hand away.

"Come on woman, just let us eat. You already know that a true god does not exist," he said angrily.

Bulma glared at him.

"Vegeta this is a Christmas tradition and you will take part in it," she said, her voice sounding threatening.

"It is a stupid earthling tradition and I'll have none of it!" growled back Vegeta.

"Every year," sighed Krillin.

Videl however was more interested in what Vegeta said. She already knows that a true god does not exist? She made a mental note to ask Gohan about it later.

"Look buster, you are going to join us in saying grace or you are not taking a single bite of this meal" growled Bulma pointing to the food in front of him.

Vegeta's eyes widened comically.

"Fine," he growled, deciding to give in. Bulma smiled at him and took his hand once more. Everyone took this as a signal to do the same and join hands.

"Well as the new face among us, do you feel like saying grace Videl?" asked Bulma smiling over at her.

Videl blinked a few times in surprise before she realised that Bulma was addressing her.

"Alright," she said, unable to think of a reason to say no.

Then everyone at the table closed their eyes and waited for her to start speaking. Taking a large gulp, Videl began.

"Dear Lord, we thank you…,"

* * *

Dinner was _very_ lively over the next hour. Gohan shovelled his food down at a record pace, apparently in competition with Vegeta. Soon there was nothing left of his turkey but Bones, each of them picked clean. It took a while for Videl to realise she had been staring at them, and that she should start on her own dinner.

Soon everyone was finished and had moved onto crackers, pairing up with someone next to them and popping them open, until everyone was wearing a paper crown. Goten in particular seemed to love this bit. Once everyone was wearing a hat, Gohan had an orange one and Videl had a purple one, and they'd all finished pudding everyone settled down to conversation. That was until Krillin stood up.

"Umm, could I have everyone's attention please?" he asked. Apparently he could because everyone turned to face him, even Goten.

"Well I'd just like to say that this was a brilliant party Bulma, as usual, but I'd just like to say that we have some good news."

At that eighteen stood up next to her fiancée, now wearing a genuine smile.

"I'd just like you all to know that Eighteen and I are going to have a baby," he said, mirroring Gohan's habit of nervously scratching the back of his head.

He waited a little while for the information to sink in. Then, as expected, the dining table burst into chaos. Bulma and Chi-Chi were squealing in excitement, and pretty much everyone else was screaming their congratulations. Yamcha had stood up to pulled his friend into a head lock.

"You dog," he said happily, earning an embarrassed chuckle from Krillin.

"Congratulations Krillin," said Gohan brightly, coming up behind his friend.

"Heh, thanks Gohan. Hey I've wanted to ask. I know you're still young and everything, but do you think you could be the baby's godfather?" asked Krillin hopefully.

Gohan blinked a few times but complied.

"Sure Krillin," answered Gohan with some uncertainty.

"Hey what about me?" Yamcha whined, feeling a little dejected.

Krillin offered his friend a smile.

"Sorry Yamcha, but if something ever happened to me , I'd feel a _whole_ lot better knowing my Kid was being taken care of by the most powerful being in the universe."

Videl managed to hear this too.

"Gohan's the most powerful being in the universe?" she asked, causing the three men and Eighteen to turn and face her. It was Eighteen who answered.

"Most likely," she answered, earning the teenage girls attention. "I don't imagine there can be anything stronger out there than Gohan."

Gohan only offered her a small smile and a shrug, since he wasn't sure how else to answer. Not that it mattered because Videl was left slightly speechless.

* * *

An hour later Gohan was taking Videl home. The last four hours had gone by quickly. At some point Gohan revealed that Bulma had given him a mobile phone for Christmas so the two quickly swapped numbers. His number was then pretty much passed round the table. The two teens were now walking side by side down the street approaching the Satan mansion. Eventually Videl broke the silence.

"So, strongest in the universe eh," she asked, looking at him out the corner of her eye. Gohan gave a shrug.

"I guess."

Videl nodded.

"So then I can take it that you were the one to defeat Cell?"

She gave him a warning look, to let him know that if he tried to lie, he'd be in for it.

"Yes," Gohan replied hesitantly. He knew it was useless to lie to her anymore.

Videl nodded her head again.

"Okay, I can believe that," she answered.

They were now approaching her front gate. It was just around the next corner. Already they could both hear the reporters who were no doubt gathered around her front gate. Quickly Videl stopped him.

"Umm, I don't think you should walk me any further than here," she said.

Gohan nodded, instantly understanding. They couldn't allow the reporters to see him dropping her off at home.

"Umm, I have your Christmas present here," she answered, putting her hand into her pocket.

Gohan's eyes widened a little.

"You didn't have too," he said quietly.

Videl smiled up at him.

"Yeah well you got me one. Thanks for that by the way."

Gohan nodded.

"You're welcome," he said.

Videl took a deep breath then looked at him determinedly.

"Okay, close your eyes," she said, daring him to argue. He didn't.

He simply closed his eyes and held out a hand, familiar with how this went. What he wasn't expecting was for Videl to put a hand on his shoulder, lean up and kiss him on the cheek. His eyes quickly flew open.

Videl looked at him shyly.

"Sorry Gohan. I was going to get you a real present but then the whole thing with Clarity happened and I didn't have time."

Her cheeks were burning and Gohan found himself at an utter loss for words.

"Umm, thanks for inviting me today Gohan. I had a lot of fun."

Videl leaned forward and gave him a quick hug while he was still paralyzed.

"See you later," she said, still blushing. Then she ran around the corner and into the eye of the press, confirmed by lots of clicking from camera's and screams of where she'd been.

Gohan lifted his hand to his cheek, and then in a slight daze began to make his way home.

* * *

Everyone was still there back at Capsule Corp. an hour later, and for no other reason than to give everyone a quick laugh, Bulma decided she would put on Hercule's speech.

The TV flickered to life in front of everyone, all of them crowded around a single settee.

Soon the face of Hercule flickered onto the screen.

"Hello, it's me the champ!" shouted Hercule getting right into it. Next to him sat Videl still in her nice clothes.

"Christmas is a time for family," said Hercule happily to the camera, putting an arm around a somewhat uncomfortable looking Videl. "Sadly, some of us are missing certain members of our family, like I am my wife. But even so, I want you all to know, that no matter what happens, even if Cell or some other monsters pop up and threaten to kill us all, I will personally guarantee that I will put that monster down, and make sure that we can all enjoy Christmas time next year-."

The TV screen suddenly began flickering. There was a bit of static and then the face on the screen was replaced with someone very familiar to Gohan.

"Hello everybody, I hope you're all enjoying yourselves on this fine Christmas day," Came the joyful voice of Golden Mask. "I am simply known as Truth. I am the leader of the organization Clarity and I am here to tell all of you something I'm sure you would all be interested in hearing. Mr Satan has been lying to all of you."

**A cliffhanger! This is a cliff-hanger right? So yes, I have decided to name Golden-Mask Truth. I have a name for every other member of Clarity but I've actually waited till now to decide exactly what Gold-masks name will be. Well as I'm sure you can all see, I decided to put all of the Christmas stuff together into one big long chapter, to get it all out the way. The question now is, what is Truth planning? Is anyone actually going to believe a word he says? And how many of you are going to review? I would resort to bribing you, but err, I can't think of anything to bribe you with. Anyone want my baby sister? **


	24. The Adamance of Rice

**Well, before we begin I just want you all to know that last chapter brought in… exactly 100 reviews. Well I've done all my excited shouting at home, so I won't do anymore here. Instead I just want to say thanks to everyone who reviewed. I'm really happy to have so much support. I mean I was getting lots of reviews anyway but I didn't think I'd manage to get a hundred reviews until around the final chapter of this arc. So yeah, thanks to all of you who reviewed, and thanks to Silver-Chan for cleaning up both the last chapter and this one. I hope you all enjoy it.**

**Disclaimer: Still don't own Dragon ball/z/GT.**

The main living room of capsule corp. had been thrown into silence in response to the on screen announcement. None of them knew how he'd done it, but Golden-mask, or Truth as he was now calling himself, had taken over the airways. He was now being viewed by practically every humanoid resident of the planet earth. After his first announcement, Truth had remained silent for a few seconds, letting his words sink in.

"It's true I'm afraid," said Truth, his voice full of fake sadness. "Hercule, _supposedly_ Earth's greatest hero has been lying to all of you all this time. I can prove that the attacks and ability's that Hercule refers to as Tricks, are _all_ real."

Entire households were shocked into silence all around the world, their eyes glued to the TV screen. Very few of them could actually believe that flying and shooting large beams of light from your hands was possible.

"Now of course I cannot say with absolute certainty that Hercule wasn't the one to defeat Cell. But then no one can, because no one saw him do it. The only ones who can verify anything are those fighters who appeared at the Cell games."

Truth took a few steps toward the camera holding his arms out wide.

"But what if the tricks that they performed, those impossible feats that we witnessed. What if they were real? After all Cell had already shown he had the ability to single handily cripple an entire army."

Truth stopped advance now, standing close to the camera so you could only see the top half of his body.

"Now I am here to day to tell you that I can prove that what you saw that day, was not tricks."

Truth was silent for a moment again as the people of Earth took in his words. At that moment, all around the world, worms of doubt began to wiggle their way into people's minds. Because no matter how much they tried to tell themselves it wasn't true, that there was no way their Hero would lie to them, they could not ignore the fact that there was no proof at all that Hercule had truly been the one to defeat Cell.

"Now I realise that many of you will be in disbelief as to what I've said, and as such I have arranged for a demonstration," Said Truth, spreading his arms out wide. "And with any luck my assistant for this demonstration should be arriving any moment now."

* * *

Hercule was nothing less than horrified. He always thought that there was a chance, just a small tiny chance that he might get found out someday. But he never imagined that the leader of a crazy organization would pop up on TV and announce his secret to the entire world. And yet, that was undoubtedly what was happening.

"You there," he barked to one of the young members of the news crew who was supposed to be filming his speech. "Don't just stand there, sort this out. I want him off the air and I want my face back on that screen!"

The young cameramen gulped and nodded, running over to the rest of his team. The group were trying to phone through to the office so they could find out how they had been cut off.

Hercule growled, anxious that they fix this soon. Because if not, he was about to be in a whole lot of trouble. He would suddenly be forced to defend his good name. But he knew that if Truth could really prove those tricks to be real, he was going to have a really tough time arguing his own case. He would be ruined. He'd lose the mansion, the sports cars the maids. Everything. And Videl would become a social outcast. No one would want to be friends with the daughter of a dirty liar.

Speaking of Videl, he hadn't heard a peep out of her since this whole thing started. He turned around, ready to find out if she was okay or if she was worrying as badly as he was. Only one major problem seemed to be present with that plan. Videl was not in her chair.

* * *

The second Truth's face had appeared on screen Videl knew instantly what was going on. There was only one place Truth could go to in order to forcefully take over the channel. The TV station that was broadcasting it in the first place. She still wasn't a good flyer, so she had to run there. But since she hadn't worn any weighted clothing today she found that didn't really matter anyway. It was the first time in a long time that she'd ran without the restraints of those clothes. She had no idea how fast she was running but it was an incredible speed. Her body felt completely free and as light as a feather. If it were any other time she'd have abandoned whatever she was doing to go for a spot of free running. But what she was doing right now was definitely too important to ignore. The station was only a few miles away, but Videl found she could run the whole thing in a few minutes. And what's more as she ran straight through the open doors of the station she realized she wasn't even out of breath.

Videl ran flat out down the corridor, focusing completely on ending Truth's news flash. A few seconds later she burst into a room, and sure enough Truth was standing there, a camera focusing on him. He looked over to her as she entered and she could swear he smiled at her from behind that mask.

"Ah, it looks like our glamorous assistant is here to help us with the demonstration," he declared, causing Videl to snarl at him.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, but this ends now," she yelled. Then she turned to glare at the guy who was filming.

"End the broadcast," she told him. But the man didn't. Instead he just smiled at her. Videl frowned at the realisation this man wasn't going to do what she asked. He seemed kind of familiar too. He was short and pudgy with messy red hair sticking out from beneath an Ascot cap. A fat cigar was sticking out his mouth.

Videl gasped in recognition, finally realizing who the man was. He was Reeds the station director. She'd met him a few times when he'd come to talk to her dad about TV specials.

She looked around hoping to see any other employee. To her dismay, there were none. Just him standing there grinning his face off.

"End the broadcast," she hissed at him again, but the man only laughed back at her.

"Are you kidding? This right here is a gold mine. There's no way I'm missing out on a story like this!"

Videl was about to protest but she suddenly flung into the middle of the room, landing at Truth's feet and in full view of the camera.

"Now for out demonstration, I need two warriors who can perform the same type of attacks as the fighters from the Cell games," said Truth, addressing the camera. "One of them is young Videl Satan here. And I believe that the other shall be my very own son, Zack!"

Another fighter appeared in the camera opposite Videl, who was picking herself up off the floor. Videl looked up at him. Just like all the other members of Clarity he wore a blue hood that his even his hair. However this one's mask was Silver and he wore white fingerless gloves. Zack cracked his knuckle in his palm as he slowly approached Videl. Apparently he'd been the one who'd thrown her.

Reeds stepped back, tacking the camera with him, allowing a better view of the coming fight. The room was rather large so there was plenty of room, but even so he backed up right into a corner.

"I think it only fitting that the child of the accused and the child of the accuser fight for the future," said Truth from his position. Then he turned to his son and with a cheery voice said "Begin."

"Yes father," replied Zack.

Videl readied herself to block an incoming fist or kick. But Zack had different ideas. He charged a Ki blast in his hand and threw it at her. Somewhat surprised Videl almost missed her chance to dodge. Luckily she managed to get it together before the blast hit, bending backward and allowing the blast to skim over her stomach and nose. The blast hit the wall where it exploded, causing a large hole to open up.

Of course Videl's choice of dodging left her with little ability to dodge or block any oncoming blows. So reacting quickly Zack shot forward, skidding beside her before she could recover. He swung his leg around, sweeping her of her feet so she was fully in the air. Then he brought both hands down, clenched together in a powerful Jack hammer. Since she was horizontal in the air, Videl managed to catch the oncoming blow before he ploughed it into her stomach. Normally, since she did this in the air, the force of the blow would send her rocketing painfully to the floor anyway. So Videl decided it was a good job the laws of gravity didn't apply to her anymore.

Videl used her energy to keep herself afloat as she caught the Jack hammer, meaning the she kept her position hovering of the ground. Before Zack could figure out what was going on Videl shot a fist out, aiming to break his mask with her punch. It didn't work though, since Zack titled his head to the side, effectively dodging her blow. Then he'd grabbed onto her ankle and swung her hard, releasing her so he could go flying into a wall. Only once again Videl used her energy to catch herself. Zack let out a grunt of annoyance as he saw Videl was _still _unharmed.

Videl used her energy to alter her fall, trying to make it look like she'd gained control of herself and simply landed rather than flew. She hadn't forgotten about the camera after all. Hopefully no one noticed her hovering earlier when she took Zack's Jack Hammer blow. And they could always claim that there was a bomb in the wall and the Ki blast was a created effect to explain that away.

It wasn't that Videl was obsessed with saving her father's reputation or anything like that. There were only two reasons she was trying to stop Truth right now. The first reason is that Gohan was perfectly happy with her father claiming the credit and claiming that energy manipulation techniques were tricks. The second one was that Truth was responsible for a _lot_ of pain in her life and she really didn't want him to have his way.

Her eyes locked onto Zack's, although his were hidden, and she readied herself into a stance, ready to resume the fight. Zack however just charged another Ki blast. He charged it and released it but this time Videl was ready. She shot forwards, moving just to the side, allowing the Ki blast to zoom past her. Her hope was that after firing the Ki blast Zack wouldn't be able to move straight away. And even if he could then hopefully the speed of her attack will overcome that. She closed the difference between them quickly and thrust her arm forward, ready to plant a fist into his gut. Only Zack seemed to have predicted this. He side stepped, grabbed her wrist, twisted it and before she could protest anything else brought down an elbow.

* * *

"I've got to get over there!" yelled Gohan, trying to throw his friends off him. The second he'd seen Videl burst onto the scene he'd been up and ready to go help out. Only Krillin had flung himself forward and grabbed him around the waist, Yamcha and grabbed onto his left leg, his mother had grabbed his arm and Oolong had his pudgy little arms around Gohan's neck. Oolong's attempt at preventing Gohan from leaving didn't amount to much since he was short and once he'd grabbed Gohan round the neck, there was nothing for his short legs to gain purchase on, meaning the only thing he'd really succeeded in doing was getting a piggyback from Gohan, pun very much intended.

Now here they all were, everyone in the room bar Vegeta grabbing onto him in order to stop him going and failing miserably. Finally Chi-Chi had had enough.

"Alright Buster, you are going to sit down RIGHT NOW AND LISTEN TO YOUR MOTHER!" she bellowed into his ear, finally getting Gohan to halt, his hand just reaching for the front door. Everyone in the room gave a sigh of relief as they could finally let go of Gohan.

"Why are you stopping me?" Gohan asked, confusion clouding his eyes. His mother finally let go of his arm before standing tall with her hands on her hips and a glare on her face.

"Alright Gohan now I know I raised you to be smarter than that. Videl obviously isn't giving it her all. She's trying to give that Golden truth fellow as little ammunition to back up his claims as possible. But if you burst in there all guns blazing then you'll prove Truth absolutely right."

Gohan stared at his mother and the logic she presented him with. She was absolutely right.

"He's baiting me," Gohan said in realization, earning a nod from Bulma. "He knew that Videl would confront him as soon as he appeared, and he planned to use her to bate me."

In other words, if he went to help Videl, then he's be falling right into Truth's trap.

"Great," growled Gohan. "We're going to need a plan."

Krillin nodded.

"Yeah, we're going to have to use our heads for this one."

But all thoughts of planning were thrown out of the window when they heard a loud scream coming from the TV.

* * *

Videl did her best to blink back the tears of pain as she looked down at her broken arm. The only comfort she could get from the sight of her arm which was bent completely the wrong way, was that it looked like a clean break. No bones protruding from the skin or anything.

She levelled the fiercest glare she could muster one Zack, who she was disgusted to hear was chuckling quietly from behind his mask. But he stopped suddenly when he heard a tut, tut, tut coming from his father.

"Zack, I instructed you to defeat her, not to break her. We do not wish to appear overly violent to the public now do we?"

Zach snorted but regardless answered with a "No father."

Truth nodded at his son then spoke to Videl.

"I do apologize for your arm. I hope you can continue the fight?"

'Bastard,' thought Videl. He was basically asking her if she wanted to give up.

Scowling at him, she gave him his answer by getting back up onto her feet. She was still experiencing an incredible amount of pain from her arm but she tried to shove it to the back of her mind.

Only problem was, she'd never suffered an injury this painful before and she really felt like breaking into tears and screaming out how much it hurt. But even so, she nodded to Zack to signal that she was ready and got into some form of stance, although she let her arm hang limply at her side.

Zack tilted his head and Videl could tell that he was smiling at her behind his mask. Without another word he charged another Ki blast and threw it at her. Videl dodged it and began charging at Zach was more. But she stopped herself last second remembering what happened last time. She cringed as she saw Zack reach for her and jumped backwards out of his reach.

Zack tilted his head at her again and this time she could swear she could hear him giggling.

Videl scowled and tried to think her way through this.

She couldn't get close to him and with her arm broken, attacking head on was a _really _bad idea. So she had to attack from outside his range. And there was only one way to do that. With a Ki blast.

She quickly shook her head. She couldn't do that. While it was just him doing it she could still claim it was a trick. She hated the fact that she was using logic similar to what her father would, but now was not the time for doubting her methods. Now was the time for action, and she'd better think of something fast.

Zack was calmly walking towards her now, and with every step he took she took a small step back. Then she realized what she was doing.

'_Why am I retreating.'_

Now was the time to strike. She could wait for him to come in close then attack when he wasn't expecting it. That's what she told herself but her legs seemed to have other ideas. She tried taking a step forwards, but for some reason she was hesitating. Her mind was screaming at her that going forwards was a really bad idea.

'_I'm afraid,' _she realized. She was scared of Zack. And all it had taken was a broken arm. That's why she was hesitating to attack. She was too scared of the potential consequences.

'_Come on, I'm stronger than this_,' she thought, trying to encourage herself. But she was still backing away from him. And it looked like someone else had noticed her fear.

"See Zach look at what you've done now. You've broken her, Body and spirit."

Truth did not sound very happy about that. More like he sounded rather annoyed.

"Sorry father," said Zack, turning away from Videl.

'NOW,' screamed Videl in her head. 'While he's not paying attention attack now_!_'

But she didn't. She just stood there hoping that he would forget about her.

'I'm stronger than this,' she told herself again. 'I'm stronger than_ this.'_

"Just finish this Zack. Miss Videl I must say I am rather disappointed. I expected more from you.

Videl grunted in response, keeping her eyes focused on Zack. She couldn't look away from him now. She may be scared but she still had no intention of giving up.

"GET AWAY FROM HER!"

Suddenly a fist came flying out of nowhere, smashing into the side of Zach's head and sending him skidding across the ground.

Videl looked up at her saviour in disbelief.

"Dad!" she croaked, wide eyes at the sight of her father, fist outstretched. Everyone had been so focused on Zack that no one had seen him come in.

Hercule didn't respond. He just continued staring at Zack who was now pushing himself up from off the floor. He turned around to face Hercule. There was a tiny crack in his mask but other than that he didn't look any worse for wear.

"I'm going to kill you, you little shit," Hercule swore at him, readying a fighting stance. "No one hurts my little girl and gets away with it."

Videl couldn't believe her ears. She'd never heard her Dad sound so serious. He was so goofy that she sometimes forgot he was a world renowned martial artist.

Zack tilted his head sideways again, but otherwise didn't engage in a stance. Videl was under the distinct impression that he did this whenever he laughed or smiled.

The serious atmosphere was rudely interrupted by the sound of clapping, and everyone turned to look at its source.

"Now _this_ was definitely unexpected," said Truth, sounding happy again. "The last time we met, I called you a coward didn't I Mr Hercule. It would seem I must apologize for that. You have come here, knowing full well that you have no chance of victory. I really must re-evaluate my opinion of you."

Truth took a few steps forward, and Hercule got ready to rush forward and attack if he need to.

"However I think you're arrival may work to our benefit. Yes, I think it will work out _quite_ nicely. You will fight Zack here to try and get revenge for your daughters arm. But when you fail, people will realise the truth. After all, how could a man who cannot even defeat a boy _possibly_ have been the one to defeat Cell?"

**Yeah, I got tired of Gohan always rushing to the rescue. So I thought let's have Hercule actually fulfil his role as a father for once. Well I got nothing more to say for now. Kinda speechless after last chapter. R&R**


	25. Broken Rice Bowl

**Hi guys! Got to apologize for our tardiness here. First off I had to go to a charity event this weekend, so it wasn't until I got back from that I had any time to wright. Then Silver-chan had her own problems so yeah, this chapter's a day late. **

**But putting that aside we're in the home stretch here. Only 47 reviews of a thousand last time I checked. **

**Well before we start Silver-chan wanted a word with all of you, then we can crack on!**

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**Hello Readers, Silver-chan here! Thank you guys SO much for taking time to review for we are almost at one thousand reviews! (It would be amazing to get to OVER 9000 reviews...) I'm sorry this chapter was slightly delayed on my part. I got wrapped up in school and work. But this chapter is definitely worth the wait! I thank you Readers, and I thank AnisoulJ93 for letting me do beta! Love ya!**

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**disclaimer: I do not own Dagonball Z/Gt. Akira Toriyama is mean and won't give it to me.**

Hercule knew he didn't have much chance of winning. He knew this because his daughter was _far_ stronger than him now _and_ she was kneeling on the floor with a broken arm. But even so, there was no way in hell he was going to stand there and willingly allow someone to hurt his daughter. When he'd realized that Videl was missing, he knew that she'd gone to confront Truth. Videl had very strong ideals and never backed down from anyone, even if they could kill her. It annoyed him to admit it but not only was Videl stronger than him, but braver too. She'd outgrown him completely. But right now his daughter needed him, and he wasn't going to let his little girl down. So even though he was probably going to die, he was going to fight the kid in front of him. And in order to have even a small chance of winning he was going to do something he'd never once done successfully in his entire life. He was going to have to strategize.

Hercule's opponent stood watching him with something akin to amusement. Zack seemed to regard Hercule, his head tilting to the side in that curious way that it does. He didn't take a stance in response to Hercule's proclamation from a moment ago. Eventually he raised a single arm. He exposed his palm to Hercule, who watched as an orb of light took its place in Zack hand. Then Zack released it, allowing the glowing ball of light to fly straight at Hercule.

Hercule's eyes widened at the sight of the ki blast flying towards him and dived out the way. The blast hit the door behind Hercule where he'd just come from, blowing it off its hinges and scattering pieces of it into the hall behind it.

Hercule scrabbled to his feet and fixed Zack with a big smirk.

"Ha, you missed!" he said, hoping to enrage the boy into trying it again. He had a plan now. "Of course little light tricks like that would never work against someone like me, the world champion!"

Hercule could hear the annoyed scowl that Zack let out before the boy aimed another Ki blast at Hercule. Once again Hercule dodged, although this time he did it without throwing himself to the floor. Hercule took the chance to close in on Zack and tried punching him. The response was for Zack to neatly dodge round the punch, grab Hercules arm, kicking his legs to bring him off balance and keel forwards then land a semi-heavy blow to Hercule's face, causing the much larger man to stagger backwards.

"Grr, damn punk," growled Hercule, trying to ignore the pain in his nose, which was quite possibly broken.

Hercule tried again, sliding his leg forwards and letting loose another powerful punch. Once again, Zack moved round it. But this time he delivered a series of punches to Hercules stomach. Hercule tried to dodge left, but Zack planted a kick in his side. Hercule let out a grunt of pain, and Zack continued pummelling him. Finally Zack delivered a powerful punch to Hercule's stomach, causing the man to double over. This brought Hercule's face into range of a fierce uppercut, which sent him careening backwards towards the corner of the room. But he still didn't fall.

Annoyed with the man's persistence, Zack charged another Ki blast and fired it at Hercule before he could recover. The blast caught him dead in the chest, picking him up off his feet, and flinging him into the corner of the room. The same corner that Reeds had occupied with his camera. The man gave a yell of panic and dived out the way moments before Hercule had been flung into the camera. The camera was crushed beneath the large bulking weight of the world champ.

Videl let out a gasp as she watched her father. She watched him position himself, even while he was getting beat into a pulp, so that when he was eventually blown backwards, it would be straight towards the camera.

'Did my Dad actually plan that?' she wondered. Somehow she couldn't comprehend her father actually planning something other than a party in his own honour. She was broken out of her musings at the sound of her father's weak cackling.

She watched her father bring up a hand and bring it crashing down on what remained of the camera, destroying any part of it that might still be broadcasting. Then the large man wearily brought himself back to his feet, stood for a few moments then fell back to his knees. Regardless of his bleeding nose, and the teeth that he needed to spit out after that uppercut; and the large burnt patch on his chest, Hercule still managed to grin at the Truth, who seemed to have been rendered speechless.

"What now?" managed Hercule, still trying to struggle his way to his feet. "There's no point attacking us now. No one's going to see or hear it."

Hercule gave a wide smile, clearly showing his thoughts that he'd just completely destroyed Truth's plot.

"Well I'll admit that was certainly an unexpected ending," said Truth, once he'd recovered from his speechless state. "However the whole world still witnessed the first half off the fight between you and my son. They all saw how weak you were in comparison to him."

Hercule let his mouth hang open. Then he smiled again.

"It was only a week ago since you tortured me you know. My injuries haven't all fully healed yet, you know."

Videl actually rolled her eyes at her father's remark. He was already planning on how to explain away his loss. How typical of her father. Every time he failed or lost, he would instantly come up with an excuse. Excuses which she now realised she'd been believing for her entire life. God did she feel dumb right now.

"Well Mr Satan, you're certainly resourceful, I'll give you that," said Truth. Then he turned to his son who hadn't moved for a while.

"Well my boy, it looks like we might have to retreat this time."

Zack didn't move. He just stood, staring at Hercule with his head tilted. He didn't respond to his father, keeping his gaze fixed on the world champ who'd finally managed to work his way back onto his feet without falling down again.

Eventually he answered.

"Father, I think I have an idea."

Truth regarded his unmoving son for a moment before asking, "And what would that be."

"It's very simple Father. If we kill Hercule Satan, then people will see that we are far stronger than him, and he'll never be able to voice his excuses."

Before Truth could respond to his son he'd already leapt forwards. He grabbed Hercule's arm, pulling him forwards before planting his fist as hard as he could into Hercule's gut. Hercule coughed blood before Zack grabbed a big tuft of his afro and pulled, bringing Hercule's face down to his knee. This attack did more damage to Hercule's hair than it did to his face, as Zack ripped a large tuft of the afro from Hercule's head. Zack kicked Hercule hard in the side of his leg causing him to buckle right. Zack shot out a hand, grabbing Hercule's neck before kicking the back of his leg again and smashing him to the floor.

"Zack stop!" yelled Truth, now witnessing the brutality of his son. Apparently, even Truth didn't condone this type of violence. But it didn't really matter since Zack wasn't listening. He placed his hand on Hercule's face, gripping it between his fingers. He picked his head up then smashed it off the ground. Then he did it again. And again. And again.

Videl was watching the entire thing. She'd meant to call out and scream for her father as she watched him get royally beaten, but her voice caught in her mouth and rather than her voice all that escaped her mouth was gasps off horror.

Zack brought Hercule's head up once more. But this time something different happened. Working up some of his remaining strength Hercule placed one of his large hands on the back of Zack's head. Then taking advantage of the fact that Zack was bringing his head up anyway, he lunged his head forward, using his hand to pull Zack's head down at the same time. He smashed Zack's head into his own, causing the boy to stumble backwards. Hercule then placed a foot in front of Zack's chest and kicked, forcing the boy off him. Zack landed on his back but it wasn't long before he was back on his feet. Hercule wasn't having as much luck. He'd managed to get himself back up onto his knees but that was it. He placed a hand behind his head to feel the blood trickling down his neck. He winced and noticed Zack in front of him looking in blurry. He growled and flung a clumsy punch. Zack moved out the way and Hercule fell onto his side from the effort.

"Zack, stop this right now!" Truth shouted, raising his voice for the first time since Videl had met him. This time Zack speared his father a glance but for looking back to Hercule who was struggling to get up again. He seemed to be deciding whether to listen to his father or keep on beating the crap out of Hercule. His choice was eventually made for him.

While he wasn't paying attention, Hercule had stumbled back onto his feet. Completely oblivious to Zack's dilemma and utterly convinced the boy would attack and kill him any moment, Hercule roared and charged Zack. He looked like he was going to fall down any moment, but regardless he leapt, closing Zack in a large bear hug and bringing both of them to the ground. Now on top of Zack he brought up his fist and brought it down towards Zack's head. The boy simply caught it.

"Sorry Father," he said. "But I won't stop."

He shot out a fist, hitting Hercule's face once more. The large man's head shot backwards but Zack reached out and grabbed Hercule's brown shirt gi and brought him back down again. He smashed his fist into Hercule's face again, splitting Hercules lip and spilling his blood. He continued to pummel Hercule's face before tossing the large man off him. Hercule landed roughly beside him with a thump. Then Zack stood, looming over the man. Videl gasped at the sight of him. His fist was red with her father's blood and some of it had splattered across Zack's mask. He looked down silently at the still form of her father.

"You… you…," Videl glared angrily at Zack. Tears were streaming down her cheeks and she seemed to be at a loss for words. She began taking steps towards Zack, any thought of fear lost. "You BASTARD!"

She ran forward, raising her good arm and shooting a punch forward faster than the eye can see. But Zack just caught it, wrenching her fist to the side and planting one of his own in her stomach. Videl gasped in pain, leaning over his fist with spit being forced from her mouth with the force of the blow. The Zack grabbed her by her neck and lifted her slowly of her feet, dangling her in the air.

"I should really kill you too," he told her casually. "But I'm not going to. I'm just going to take your father from you."

Videl could feel herself blacking out from the death grip he had on her throat. She was clawing at his hand with the one limb hand she could use but he wasn't even flinching.

"Why…," she managed to ask. She couldn't finish her sentence because of the hand encircling her throat. But even so Zack seemed to understand her question and he even answered.

"Because it was always you," he said, and squeezed her throat tighter, causing her to silently cry out.

Zack suddenly felt a force gripping him from below. He looked down to see Hercule gripping the hem of his gi. The martial arts champ was trying to pull himself up, using Zack as his support.

"Don't.. you touch.. my… daughter," he managed to gasp.

Zack, still looking down at Hercule, released his grip on Videl's throat and dropped her. She landed on her feet and staggered. But before she could fall he caught her with a powerful backhand to the face sending her skidding to the floor.

He reached down and grabbed Hercule by his Gi and began pulling him up causing Hercule to look up at him. One eye was closed, black and swollen. His nose was bent at an odd angle and his lip and cheeks were both cut. Blood seemed to be pouring from inside his mouth, probably from the lost teeth.

"You really are persistent," said Zack casually. "But it's time to die now."

"Zack don't!" cried Truth, finally taking some steps forward to interfere. Zack glanced towards his father and at that moment Hercule took action. He planted a single foot on the ground and positioned his fist. Then using every last bit of strength he had he pushed up with his foot and released his fist in a twisting motion.

Noticing Hercule too late, Zack couldn't react as Hercule's fist caught him squarely in the chest. He was lifted off his feet and launched into the air by the force of Hercule's fist.

"Rising fist!" roared Hercule triumphantly. He watched Zack land heavily a bit further down the room before finally collapsing to the ground and, with the last of his energy spent blacked out.

Truth seemed stunned by Hercule's last stance. He watched his son fly through the air and land with a crunch. Secretly he hoped that the blow had bested his son. It would not be easy to control him right now. But it would seem that God was against him completely today as his son pushed himself back up onto his feet.

The boy walked gingerly back over to the fallen champ, rubbing his chest a little. He nudged Hercule with his foot and grunted when the man didn't respond. Truth eyes his son warily, hoping that he would stop now.

Zack however, had different ideas. He moved his foot over Hercule's head, just about ready to stamp down with his foot.

"Hey, asshole!"

Zack stopped his stomp to look over at where the voice came from. He saw Videl, still lying on the floor but looking at him. Her good arm was raised and a ball of pink ki was charged in her hand.

"Leave my Father alone," she snarled and then she fired.

Behind his mask Zack's eyes widened and his pupils shrunk at the sight of the light projectile hurtling towards him. He just about managed to lean his body out the way, watching the ki blast smack into the wall and explode. Slowly he turned his head back to Videl who, to his chagrin was grinning up at him.

Momentarily forgetting about Hercule Zack stalked over to her.

"Zack, leave her alone," his father warned, but once again he was ignored. He picked the girl up by the collar of her shirt and hoisted her into the air. She was still grinning down at him.

"Stop smiling," he snarled. "You cannot win and your father is going to die so stop smiling."

Videl somehow managed to let out a chuckle. Then she began coughing because of the pain in her throat from where he'd held her earlier. Now there was a rather ugly back hand shaped bruise there.

"You know, I can't sense energy," she told him, trying to ignore the pain in her throat. "But when he's nearby, I can feel all of the energy in my body buzzing. I don't know why but I do know that he's looking for us, and by firing that ki blast, I've just told him where we are."

Zack didn't have time to try and understand what she was saying. That's because the second she finished speaking a small pushing of the roof fell down with a crash to the floor gaining his attention. On the piece of fallen roof there was a boy crouching down. He had pitched black dark hair and as he looked up from his crouch to glare directly at Zack he revealed onyx coloured eyes. His hair was waving around in an invisible breeze and the pieces of debris that had fallen from the roof around him were vibrating. His hair would occasionally stand on end as a wave of gold ran up the strands and his eyes were would flash a green teal colour every now and again. For a moment there was no movement in the room as everyone bar Hercule turned their attention to the boy.

"Hi Gohan," said Videl weakly. Gohan turned to look at her and as he did so his glare turned a little softer at the sight of her. The golden wave that was running through his hair disappeared and his eyes stopped flashing.

"I thought I told you to stop and wait for help before you rush in," he joked, earning a small chuckle from Videl although soon she went back into another coughing fit because of the pain in her throat.

Gohan looked around the room, seeming to regard it for a moment before noticing the smashed camera in the corner of the room and the sight of a terrified Reed who had wet himself at the sight of Gohan's glare earlier.

"You've already took care of the camera's," remarked Gohan casually. But Videl knew better than to determine Gohan's mood by his voice. Beneath the casual tone, she could tell he was seething. Right now, he was trying to regain control of himself to make sure he didn't do something stupid.

"Ah Gohan, how nice to see you again," said Truth a little meekly. It had been his plan to confront Gohan on camera where he couldn't kill him and his son, lest he be seen doing it by the whole world and be branded a murderer.

Gohan levelled a glare on Truth and the man felt himself sweat; now trying to figure out a way of getting out of this alive.

Zack was also feeling a little scared. Like Videl he couldn't sense energy levels but even so his instincts were screaming at him to run. But he couldn't do that, he hadn't killed Hercule yet, and that was something he'd been planning for a long time now, whether his father wanted him too or not. Scowling he dropped Videl to the ground and, ignoring all his instincts launched an attack on Gohan. He dashed forward, charging a ki blast in his left hand and releasing that first in an attempt to distract Gohan so he could catch Gohan unawares. But he was forced to stop his advancement when Gohan didn't even try to block the Ki blast. He simply allowed it to hit him and explode throwing up smoke everywhere. It had been a pretty powerful Ki blast by Zack's standards. He'd put enough energy into that to kill even a well-trained martial artist, hoping that it's hit the ground and knock Gohan off balance with the shockwaves. Instead he'd apparently succeeded in blowing Gohan up.

He stood there waiting for the smoke to clear so he could inspect Gohan's remains. But what he got instead was a hand shooting out from the smoke and clamping itself around his neck.

Zack let out a gasp, now on the other side of the strangling as Gohan emerged from the smoke completely unscathed. Even his clothes remained undamaged. Gohan picked Zack up by his neck, levelling a glare at Zack and snarling.

He threw the boy hard, watching as the Zack sailed through the air and slammed into the wall. He smashed into it just strong enough to leave an indent into the wall and a spider web of cracks working their way across the wall. Zack slowly slumped to the ground, coughing loudly as his throat was now free of Gohan's grip. He hesitantly looked up to see Gohan walking slowly towards him. He looked down at Zack with pure murder in his eyes, and for the first time in a long time Zack felt scared for his life.

He looked over at his father, who remained rooted from the spot. Zack realised that even his father couldn't stop this boy. But that didn't mean that his father would give up on him did it?

Gohan stopped just in front of Zack before squatting down and looking though the slits in the mask and into Zack's eyes.

He reached his hand out forwards and Zack quivered as Gohan's hand covered his sight.

**Okay there are probably a few things you're all going to find odd in this chapter, but I have thought it out (for once) and I can explain pretty much everything that goes on here, why it happens or doesn't happen. But I probably won't tell any of you because you'll find out later on anyway. But let's ignore all that for now. Tomorrow my little brother returns to school, which means I have the house to myself with nothing to do. So I can bet you can all guess what I'll be doing. R&R please!**


	26. Truth & Rice

**You know yesterday morning I went downstairs and my mother asked me why I was smiling so much. The answer? Yesterday this fic officially cleared 1000 reviews! I told my mom that and she told me to publish this. I don't even think I could do that, copyright claims and everything, but if I could I would. **

**So before last chapter I had several people say they were on Clarity's side. But for last chapter I mainly got Zack should die," or something similar. Anyway, I just wanted to do a hand count of how many of you awesome readers actually want Clarity to succeed? I'm kind of curious to know?**

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**Hey! Silver-chan here! *pops confetti bags* Congratulations! You guys have this gotten over 1,000 reviews! It's great that you guys review for us. Yeah, I will say, I'm definitely NOT a perfect beta, but I try my best. Your input is very much appreciated! Thank you all and AnisoulJ93! Love ya!**

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**Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonball Z or gt or any other spin offs. I do own the clarity organization and all it's members because I'm just that awesome.**

To _actually_ kill someone was an urge that Gohan _very_ rarely got. Usually he only got it when his friends and family were being badly hurt or killed, and it was usually accompanied by a dramatic increase in power. This time, no dramatic increase was present and he was doing his best to hold himself back and _not _give in to the urge to simply crush the squirming head that he currently had enclosed beneath his fingers. They were firmly wrapped around Zack's head, the small amount of pressure he was exerting causing cracks to appear in his mask and muffled cries of pain from Zack as he felt his skull slowly begin to cave from Gohan's grip.

Gohan gave a grunt and slowly began to stand, bringing Zack up as well. He held Zack in the air by his face, still unsure as to what his next move would be. He'd never enjoyed the thought of killing someone. In fact, he thought the act of murder was absolutely horrible, no matter how justified it may be, a viewpoint he'd inherited from his father. But even so, it was hard to resist the overwhelming urge to end Zack's life.

"Gohan…"

Gohan looked at Videl out of the corner of his eye, noticing the small look of fear that she held in her eyes. He sighed, feeling his anger dissipate.

He released his fingers and Zack crumpled to the floor in a heap. He turned and walked over to Videl, crouching to examine her arm. Videl winced as he moved it a bit until it was back in place. She bit her lip to prevent herself from crying out, barely noticing when her teeth drew blood. Gohan glanced up at her, noticing her scrunched up face and gave her an apologetic look. Then he placed a somewhat glowing hand over the break.

Videl stopped scrunching up her face as she felt a warm and soothing feeling work its way into her arm. The immense pain began to recede, although not entirely. Gohan began to rub her arm with the palm of his hand and the warm feeling spread.

"I've sped up the healing process in your arm," he told her, continuing to gently rub at the break. "Try to hold your arm in place and don't move it. It may not hurt as much anymore, but your arm is still broken. Any agitation and the process will have to start all over again."

Videl nodded her head, giving Gohan a slight smile as he continued working on her arm.

"Mr. Gohan. I've been wanting to speak with you."

Gohan turned to face Truth, although he continued to gently massage Videl's arm as he did so. He fixed Truth with a look that clearly said, 'I don't care about you right now, so fuck off.'

"Erm, yes I apologize for my son's mistreatment of Miss Videl," said truth in response to the look Gohan was giving him. He decided it was a good job he chose not to involve everyone in his organization in this plan. Although he'd judged Gohan as a gentle person it was also clear that he'd show cruelty if angered enough. In fact, he'd been scared for a moment that he was actually going to kill Zack. If he'd brought his organization members along with him there's a chance he may have lost them all.

He spared a glance to his son, who was holding his head in his hands and groaning in pain.

Gohan stopped treating Videl's arm and stood up instead. He pocketed his hands and casually approached Truth doing his best to prevent a growl from escaping his laps.

"You realise I'm way stronger than you," stated Gohan as he approached. "What did you think you could do when I got here? I don't need something like energy attacks to defeat you and your son. I could have pummelled you both and not revealed a thing."

Truth stood his ground, doing his best to keep any and all traces of fear out of his voice.

"I didn't wish to fight with you," admitted Truth. "I simply wished to talk with you, under the watchful eye of the public where you cannot kill us or perform any superhuman feats that would give us away. And by making use of Videl, you would not dare to attack us either, for fear that doing so could cost her life."

Truth's voice was even as he confessed the details of his less than morally lacking plan. Gohan blinked a few times as he listened, surprised that Truth would be so open about it.

"There were two problems I did not foresee," continued Truth. "The first one is that my son was far more aggressive than I first thought. I was under the impression that I had taught him to have a greater amount of self-control than he showed today. He was aware that he was not supposed to inflict any serious injuries upon Videl."

He looked between his son and Videl's broken arm, which she was cradling in place just as Gohan had told her too.

"Thank you for not killing him by the way."

Gohan grunted, which Truth took to mean 'don't mention it,' and carried on.

"The other problem was that I never predicted Mr. Satan would attempt to rescue his daughter. I believed that any such attempt on his part would involve the police or other authorities. I did not believe he had the courage to confront us himself. Not only that, he skilfully manipulated Zack into helping him destroy the camera."

He looked over to the camera's wreckage, and the unmoving form of Reeds, who was sat on the floor, the puddle of yellow water that had been created between his legs showing that he'd wet himself.

Gohan narrowed his eyes, signalling to truth to get to the point before Gohan stopped listening.

"I have a question that I believe you know the answer too," said Truth. "Originally it was my plan to force you to answer this question before the public, but obviously this is no longer possible. However I shall ask it anyway."

Truth seemed to take a deep calming breath, trying to curb his growing excitement. He exhaled deeply before asking his question.

"Do you know who truly defeated Cell."

Gohan tilted his head. He stayed quiet but a smirk tugged at his lips.

"Yes," he answered teasingly.

"Who?!" shouted Truth the second Gohan answered, completely giving up his straight posterior as he asked, leaning forwards and bringing out his arms from his sides. Truth seemed to lose himself in his excitement of finally learning who truly defeated Cell.

"Who was it? Who truly saved us? Who really saved us from Cell?" he asked, his voice completely losing its neutral tone.

Gohan smiled fully now and a glint of mirth made its way into his eyes.

"Hercule did."

Silence rained over the gym, filled only by the heavy breathing of Truth and the muffled groans of Zack.

"Don't play games with me," growled Truth, his voice sounding sinister. "Tell me truthfully, who really saved this planet."

"Hercule," repeated Gohan, his grin now wide as he stared into truth's mask. "Hercule created the catalyst. He couldn't defeat Cell in combat, but thanks to his actions Cell was defeated. Just as it was thanks to my father's sacrifice that this planet wasn't destroyed. There were lots of people who could claim the credit for Cell's defeat, and one of those people happens to be Hercule. That's why none of us mind that he took the credit. He kind of earned it in his own little way."

Gohan grinned as Truth began to shake with anger.

"You, do you think this is funny? I have dedicated my entire life to martial arts, learning as many techniques as I can. Do you honestly think I would ever believe that a bumbling two bit martial artist like Hercule had anything to do with the defeat of Cell at _all_?"

Gohan shrugged, his eyes drooping to a bored expression, as if talking to Truth had lost all meaning to it.

"It doesn't really matter anyway. I'm done talking to you."

Gohan prepared a stance, showing he was ready to fight. But Truth had no intention of going along with it, since he already knew he would lose.

A shuffle caught Truth's eyes and the next thing Gohan knew an arm wrapped around his neck.

"Quick father, kill him while I'm holding him back!"

Zack had recovered and had grabbed Gohan in a sleeper hold.

Gohan raised an eyebrow at Zack's comment. He didn't see how this was holding him back. To prove it he easily wrenched his arm and neck out of Zack's grip before swatting him away with the back of his hand. Truth decided to use this as an opportunity and quickly charged two ki blasts. One he fired at the wall, creating a large hole for him to escape. The second he aimed at who Gohan, who cocked his head at the sight of the blast being levelled at him.

"Just give up Truth. You already know that you're not powerful enough to hurt me."

"Not you, no," admitted Truth, slowly backing up until he reached his son.

"But what about her?" Truth shifted his aim, so the large ball of ki was aimed at Videl, whose eyes widened at the realisation she was being targeted.

"I'm counting on you here Gohan," said Truth, his voice oddly serious. Then he fired.

Gohan didn't even give it a second thought before he was in front of the blast and knocking it back to Truth.

"That was not supposed to happen," mumbled Truth as he noticed the large ball of Ki flying back at him. "Oh well."

He charged a second ball and fired. The two blast of Ki collided with each other, and after a brief moment where they seemed to fuse together exploded.

The explosion was rather large and powerful. Gohan remained standing in front of Videl, shielding her from most of the blast. Truth took the time to grab his son and jump straight out of the hole out of the building before turning in mid-air, charging a third blast and throwing it back through the hole into the building, just to keep Gohan occupied.

The blast was thrown at a curve, so when it entered the room it immediately headed for the floor. It instantly exploded on impact, the force causing another large hole to appear. This caused a domino effect as the entire floor began to cave in on itself and fall to the floor below.

Gohan growled as he realised that rather than chase after Truth, he had to ensure Videl and Hercule's safety. He was kneeling on the floor to gain a better sense of balance as it began to tilt forwards into the whole in the middle of the room that was getting ever larger. Hercule's unconscious body began to slide along the floor, picking up speed as it approached the edge.

Gohan looked at Videl who was still cradling her somewhat broken arm. It would be bad for her arm to let her experience any sudden movement now, but really what choice did he have.

He approached her, quickly scooping her up into his arms, figuring this would be the best way to carry her. She gave a small squeak as he lifted her before the cracks in the floor became bigger and larger chunks began to break off and fall to the floor below. Gohan quickly shot forward, grabbing Mr Satan's body before he could disappear over the edge. He looked down at the good thirty foot drop from where they were. Apparently the studio they were in was positioned directly over the main entrance, which was made to be large and grand. A fall from this height probably wouldn't kill a man, but it was very likely to break a bone or two and Hercule wasn't in a very good state anyway. The piece of floor Gohan was now standing on began to tilt forward as it began its long descent to the bottom. Without another thought, Gohan jumped through the hole Truth had made earlier. He moved quickly, faster than the human eye could comprehend. Less than half a second later, he was on the roof of the building opposite the studio. He looked over the edge and found that he'd made the right choice to move at the speed he did, even though it might aggravate Videl's arm a bit. Below him were a multitude of reporters who'd descended on the TV station, along with police and also several locals who had wondered what had happened after the camera had cut out, and then noticed the large commotion outside the station, leading them to quickly guess where the standoff had been taking place. It would seem they'd picked a hell of a time to finish. The police were currently trying to enter the building but couldn't due to the large amount of debris now blocking the door. Gohan gave a small sigh before heading to the one place he knew was safe.

Capsule Corp.

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"There is still no word on the current location of Mr. Hercule Satan, or his daughter Videl Satan," announced the reporter on the capsule corp. television. "Although both were believed to be in the Satan city station prior to its collapse, the police do not believe that they are buried beneath the rubble. However the corpse of the Satan City Station, Bernard Reeds, was found partially buried beneath the rubble."

Gohan winced as he realised he'd completely forgotten about the man when he'd escaped from the building. Both he and Videl were sitting inside Capsule corp. watching the news channels for the reports on what had happened. Videl's arm had been put into a cast, although she was now wincing once in a while. Now that the warm buzz of Gohan's energy inside her arm had faded, she'd been forced to feel what partially accelerated healing was actually like. She'd been told the feeling of her arm crushing itself to pieces was actually the bone melding itself back together. Apparently it would be set within a few hours, and then fully healed within a few weeks. A lot faster than the months it would have taken to heal otherwise. Both teens sat watching the news with hot beverages in hand. Gohan with hot chocolate and Videl with some herbal tea.

Hercule was in the hospital wing of capsule corp. It required its own hospital wing for when accidents happened in the work place, or when Vegeta got angry at one of the workers. It was currently coming in _very_ useful now especially since Bulma had informed them that Hercule had been half dead when they'd brought him in. He'd suffered several broken ribs, three broken fingers and a broken nose; lost four teeth and bit out a chunk of his tongue out at some point, probably from an uppercut; and also had fractured his skull in several places. But Bulma was happy to inform a sniffling Videl that her father would eventually make a full recovery.

So now Bulma was making sure Hercule would pull through, Chi-Chi was fixing them something to eat and Vegeta was keeping Goten and Trunks occupied the only way he knew how. By teaching his son death threats and how to be intimidating while Goten watched and laughed randomly. The boys' mothers both insisted they were still too young to train physically so Vegeta had resorted to training the boys' minds.

Gohan and Videl sat for a solid two hours watching the news reports on the telly. There were constant updates on the on-going search for the Satan's whereabouts, as well as interviews with random people on what they thought of Truth's words. A lot of them said it was rubbish at that Truth had probably set bombs up in the studio beforehand and then blown up the studio when he realised that Hercule was too much for him (It seemed to be the common viewpoint that Hercule had performed a comeback victory once the camera had been smashed). But other people expressed some doubt towards Hercule saying that Truth did have a point, that none of them had ever seen Hercule defeat Cell, and there was no one who was able to confirm that he had.

Videl sighed as she watched the news reports and eventually began to feel herself become sleepy. She leaned her head on Gohan's shoulder, resting her now empty mug of tea on her lap. Gohan looked down at her, but didn't protest to her using him as a pillow. Instead he just turned back to the television, continuing to watch the news reports. Tomorrow the police would find both Hercule Satan _and_ Videl Satan safe at home, sporting a few minor injuries. But until then, they were going to stay the night at Capsule corp.

Gohan heard soft snores coming from beside him and looked down to see Videl fast asleep. Gently, he took the empty mug from her hands and set it down on the table beside his own. He looked back down to her, feeling himself smile at the sight of her sleeping face. Gently he raised his arm and placed it around Videl's shoulders, feeling her snuggle herself in to him as he did. Deciding he also felt a bit tired Gohan hunkered down, feeling surprisingly comfortable where he sat with Videl leaning up against him. He gave a yawn and his eyes began to droop before closing entirely.

Meanwhile the TV was still on and new newsfeeds seemed to be coming in all the time. The anchor-woman raised her hand to the earphone she had set up; listening intently to the new information she had been given. She nodded her head several times before turning back to face the camera.

"News just in," she said, her voice sounding a little grave. "A surveillance camera set up on the roof of the roof of the Reletino development agency, situated opposite the aforementioned Satan city station, has recorded a boy appearing to be holding both Hercule Satan and Videl Satan mere seconds after the collapse of the station has been found. Police are now searching for the boy, believed to be the same boy who saved the Hercule Satan from his brief kidnapping some days ago, in order to obtain possible information of the ware bouts of the Satan family members. The boy, named Son Gohan is now an official suspect in the case of the repeated kidnappings of the Satan family members. We will soon have more to report."

**Okay now I know a lot of you want me to do longer chapters. But a lot of the time I can't. I can only write in my free time, and that's getting less and less. But on the bright side, I update a lot, so you still get plenty to read.**

**Anyway, as I was saying earlier I was wondering how many of you actually support Clarity. I'm sure Truth would be happy to know that he has public support for what he's doing. Well until next time guys.**


	27. Comfort Rice

**Hi everyone. Well thirteen of you are confirmed clarity supporters. How about that. Well I don't have too much to say this time around except enjoy the chapter.**

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**Hey readers! Silver-chan here! Holy crap over 1,100 views already?! *hugs everyone while sobbing* I love you all so much! This is a whole lot of fun to beta and read. Thank you readers for reviewing and AnisoulJ93 for writing this for us. He updates A LOT faster than I do! Anyway, I hope you all enjoy another instalment of "Broken Record"!**

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**Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonball/z or GT. I have been talking to my legal people and apparently being the most awesome person in the country does no entitle me to copyrights. Bogus law I know but what you gonna do about it?**

Videl groaned as she started to wake up. Her eyes were still closed and even though she was somewhat awake, she had no intention of changing that. She didn't know where she was, but it was way too comfortable to move from just yet. She felt something thick and warm covering her and whatever she was leaning on was definitely one of the greatest pillows she ever slept on in her life. She groaned again, cursing the fact she had to wake up. She curled up into herself savouring the warmth of the large blanket that seemed to be covering her. But it was at that moment she became aware of soft snoring coming from beside her. The snores were so soft you could barely hear them. Videl frowned, finally deciding to open her eyes and have a look at her roommate. The first thing she saw was the true identity of the super comfy pillow she was using.

"Gohan," she breathed out quietly. There he sat covered in the same large blanket that covered her, just their heads poking out from underneath. Both of them were still on the couch they'd fallen asleep on the day before, although only Gohan was in a sitting position. Videl had curled herself up into a ball at some point in the night in an effort to snuggle up closer to him, her body apparently seeking out his warmth of its own accord.

Videl blushed when she realised the position she was in, snuggled up to Gohan, sharing a blanket and sleeping place with him and with his arm wrapped around her shoulder's keeping her there beside him in a warm embrace. Videl looked around the room tying to remember where she was.

"Capsule Corp." she muttered to herself as the memories of the previous night began to flood back into her mind. Her father should be around somewhere, hopefully no longer in critical condition. She got up, ready to go look for him when the blanket slid down slightly, exposing her to a sudden chill. Before she could think about what she was doing, Videl dived back beneath the blanket, bringing it back up over her shoulders.

She hastily began to rethink her plans. First it was obviously still early. Bulma was probably still in bed and she had no idea how to get to the medical bay by herself. Second it was warm under the blanket and it was cold outside the blanket.

"I think I'll stay here for a bit," she muttered to herself. Curling back into a ball beneath the blanket. She looked to the right back at Gohan, her new found super comfy pillow. Carefully, and blushing all the way, she eased herself back down beside him, returning to her previous position. Gohan fidgeted a bit in his sleep, slipping his arm back round her shoulders and hugging her to his side again. Videl's cheeks flushed but she didn't make a sound.

'Strange," she thought. 'I don't think this blanket was here last night. Oh well I'll worry about it later.'

Videl closed her eyes and began to doze.

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Videl was still snuggled up next to Gohan when Bulma and Chi-Chi entered the room two hours later, Bulma still wearing her superman pyjamas.

"Aw, aren't they so cute when they're together like that Chi?" said Bulma, giving a small giggle at the sight of her god son and his friend.

Chi-Chi nodded, a smile gracing her lips.

"It's so nice that Gohan's found himself such a strong willed and able girlfriend," she said happily. "It's just a shame that she's being targeted along with her father by mad men."

Bulma nodded her agreement, forcing herself to stop giggling and allowing a content smile onto her face.

"Come one Chi-Chi, I think we're all going to need one of your famous breakfasts this morning. We can tell them the news after they've ate. In the meantime, I'm going to go check on afro man. I'll just make sure that he didn't die sometime in the night."

Chi-Chi nodded happily, before practically skipping back down the hallway, ready to go cook breakfast. Bulma laughed at her friend's happiness before sticking both arms in the air and stretching. Then she began to make her way down a different corridor, heading towards the medical bay.

"I think I'll develop those pictures me and Chi-Chi took last night too," she mused to herself.

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"Gohan, breakfast!" Chi-Chi called. Her loud voice caused the young half Saiyan to stir. The first thing he noticed was a weight on his chest that was keeping him pinned. He opened his eyes groggily, looking down at the slumbering form of Videl, who was using him as a pillow and was smiling as she slept.

"Oh that's right," thought Gohan aloud, remembering the previous night. Videl had fallen asleep and he'd… cuddled her to him.

"Probably best not to tell her that," Gohan mumbled.

Gently Gohan lifted the girls head, holding it up and moving the blanket at the same time. Once he'd successfully removed himself from the bundle he stood up and gently laid Videl down so that she was lying on her side still covered by the blanket. Gohan took a moment to stare at the girl who'd been resting on him less than a minute ago. Her hair was splashed out around her, no longer in its two pigtails. The way she was lying down covered the ugly bruise that covered her right cheek. Gohan unconsciously leaned in closer to her.

'She's really cute,' he thought, is cheeks lighting up red as he did so.

"Gohan, wake up Videl for breakfast as well!" called Chi-Chi.

Gohan shifted his gaze to the door where his mother's voice had come from for a moment. When he looked back to Videl he found himself staring into two bright blue eyes.

"Gohan, what are you doing?"

Gohan's entire face flushed red when he finally realised how close he was. He quickly went to move back, but since he was crouching this ended up with him falling flat on his bum.

"Erm, good morning Videl," Gohan said, trying to keep his voice straight.

Videl nodded in reply before propping herself up on her hands. She blinked down at him a few times before an idea popped into her head and she smirked.

"Why were you staring at me Gohan?" she asked teasingly.

Gohan's turned his face away so he was no longer staring into her eyes. If it was possible for him to be blushing any deeper then he would be.

"N-No reason," he stuttered. He kept his head turned, completely avoiding her gaze.

Videl smirked wider at the sight of a blushing face before a worry that had been growing in the back of her mind pushed itself to the forefront of her thoughts.

"How's my dad doing?" she asked solemnly.

Gohan blinked a few times before turning to look at her in the face again. Only now that she was sitting upright her fringe, which had always been swept to the side and locked into her pigtails with the rest of her hair, now hung low like a curtain, blocking her eyes from view.

"I just woke up too, so I don't know," answered Gohan, trying to catch a glimpse of Blue from below her hanging hair. "But we can go check up on him before breakfast if you want."

Gohan himself would much prefer to have breakfast first, but he also understood that her father's wellbeing was going to be more important to her than food, and he was also rather anxious to make sure the man was alright himself.

Videl nodded before standing up, removing the blanket at the same time. She was a little shaky on her feet but managed none the less. Gohan got up of the floor to stand beside her. He still couldn't make out much of her face because of her hanging fringe and it kind of annoyed him. With some hesitation he lifted a hand and brushed the hair on the left side of her face to the side, tucking it behind her ear. This only revealed the one side of her face, the one unblemished by the bruise that had been inflicted on her by Zack the day before. He didn't really want to see that. For some reason the sight of it made him angry so he decided it was probably best to keep it covered. Videl didn't say anything about him moving her hair so Gohan assumed it was alright. Gohan smiled down at her before taking her hand in his.

"Come on, the medical bay is this way," he told her, pulling her out the door and down a hallway. Videl looked down to her hand that was currently tightly enclosed by Gohan's. She looked back up to him, though she could only see the back of his head. She felt her cheeks go red.

After a full minute of walking Gohan dragged Videl thorough a door into a brightly lit white room. There were four beds in the room, but only one of them was occupied. Hercule Satan was lying down, eyes closed and clearly unconscious. There were several wires connected to him in various places, each off them connected to one of two machines. One machine seemed to be a heart monitor and if the beeping was anything to go by Hercule's heart was beating at a steady pace. His hands were bandaged and so was his head and torso. At the sight of her father Videl instantly fell into a chair located in the corner of the room and felt her eyes swell up with tears.

"Daddy," she said weakly, looking at the still form of her father.

"Don't worry Videl, your Dad will be just fine."

Gohan and Videl both jumped at the sound of the unexpected voice. They turned to see Bulma sitting in a different corner of the room and partially hidden by a white curtain. She stood up fully and walked over to them, draining the last of the coffee e that resided in her mug as she did so.

"He's got a few broken bones, and he can't be moved for a while, but give it a few months and he'll be right as rain. Well you don't even have to wait that long, just long enough for Korrin to grow a new batch of Senzu beans."

Videl stared up and Bulma dumbly before once again nodding to show that she understood.

"In the meantime we've got bigger problems. Come on, let's get you two fed and then I can explain some stuff for you."

Gohan looked at her quizzically but went to follow her out the room all the same. He only stopped when he noticed Videl still hadn't moved.

"You coming Videl?" he asked softly. She turned round to him before nodding once again and walking past him. But as she went past she grabbed his hand, copying what he did earlier and dragging him out after her. This time it was Gohan who blushed.

* * *

"They… what?"

Gohan and Videl had just been informed on the media's conclusion. The general consensus was that Gohan was most likely a member of Clarity and had wormed his way into Videl's household, posing as her friend. After interviewing some students from their school, it was revealed that attempted kidnappings and assaults began shortly after Gohan transferred in, a complete coincidence but one what worked against him.

"Well we can just tell them the truth. That Gohan saved us and that he's been helping us out," said Videl. "That will solve everything."

"No it won't," argued Bulma. "You can't tell them that Gohan rushed in, somehow bypassing all of the cops and reporters who had amassed outside the station unnoticed, and then beat up a guy who publically defeated you and proved to be more than a match for your father before the broadcast was cut. They'll just think that Gohan pretended to save you again or something like that."

Videl was about to protest but this time she was cut of Chi-Chi.

"And you can't say it was your father who did it either. In his current condition there's no way the media would buy that. I mean, I know they believe everything else they're told, but that is one lie that is not going to hold up."

Videl was lost for words and Gohan was looking down grimly at the table.

"Then…then we tell them what really happened. That all of the things my father says are tricks are actually real, and that Gohan and then we can just explain things right?"

Bulma shook her head.

"That's pretty much what Truth wants us to do. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if he had the whole thing planned out."

"But we could still do it couldn't we? I'm not going to let them treat Gohan like a criminal when this whole mess was started because of one of my Dad's lies."

She glared angrily at Bulma as if daring her to protest. Bulma looked shocked by what Videl was really suggesting.

"Videl, if we reveal the truth to the public, just like Clarity wants us too, then not only will Truth win, but you and your Dad will lose everything too. You'll be run out of the city," said Bulma. "If it was just after the Cell games then it wouldn't matter as much. But now the fact that Hercule is the world's hero has become a big part of people's lives. It's like a foundation holding up the city, and if you take that foundation away the city could collapse."

She gave Videl a stern look, showing her how serious the situation was. But Videl just shook her head.

"I don't care. I'm not going to let them treat Gohan like this."

Bulma sighed but then Chi-Chi decided to speak up.

"Well I think that Gohan should choose what we do," she quipped, causing everyone at the table to stop and look at her.

"This is his secret just as much as it is Hercule's. Plus it's him than the media's branded a criminal. I think he should choose."

Chi-Chi smiled at her son who had visibly paled.

"Son for most of your life you've had no choice and no say in what goes on. But now everything falls down to you," she said, before sitting up from her kitchen chair. "I say you should think over the situation thoroughly, and then decide your next course of action."

Gohan gulped but nodded, causing Chi-Chi to smile at him.

"Well I think that's settled. Bulma why don't you go wake up that brutish husband of yours? I've got his share of breakfast right here, and it won't do at all if it goes cold."

Bulma looked up at her best friend with a new found sense of respect. Chi-Chi had always strictly controlled Gohan's actions to the best of her ability, so now that she was allowing Gohan to do his own thing it was a complete shock to her. But Chi-Chi was right, this was Gohan's decision to make.

Without another word Bulma rose from her seat and went to wake her husband. Chi-Chi turned around and returned to the Kitchen, deciding it was time to start making dinner. Gohan also rose from the table, calmly walking away back to the living room. Videl quickly followed him, determined to know what he was going to do.

Without a word Gohan sank into the large sofa that he'd just woke up on an hour or so before. He picked up the remote and switched on the TV. Instantly the news popped up, revealing the latest discoveries in relation to the disappearance of Hercule and Videl Satan.

Videl slowly sat down next to him, intent on asking him what his decision was going to be.

"Do you have you mobile?" Gohan asked before Videl had a chance to open her mouth.

"No," she answered with a frown. "It got banged up in the fight with Zack yesterday. I had to throw it away when I got here last night."

Gohan let out a sigh.

"I was going to suggest you call up Erasa and let her know you're okay. The last time your father disappeared, she called you straight away remember? I bet she's so worried she's throwing a fit right now."

Gohan smiled sadly.

"I still haven't asker Erasa and Sharpner for their numbers. Now I doubt either one of them would ever swap numbers with me."

Videl frowned at him.

"Come on, you don't honestly think they'll believe a word on the news do you? They met you Gohan. Everyone who knows you knows you're not capable of something like kidnap. Hell a week ago I didn't think you were even capable of getting angry."

Gohan gave a small chuckle, before returning to watching the TV, letting silence fall between the two of them again.

"Soooo, what do you want to do?" asked Videl, forgoing any attempts at being subtle. Gohan gave a small smile.

"I honestly don't know," he answered. "I'm just trying to think if there's a better way out of this."

Videl sighed and without really thinking about it leaned onto his shoulder again.

"Don't you want the world to know the truth?" she asked.

Gohan looked down at her, not really sure how to react to her leaning on him when she was awake.

"I'm not really sure," he admitted. "Obviously sometimes it's frustrating having to hide what I can really do. But at the same time I kind of enjoy it you know. When I go to school kids might call me nerd or whatever else, but to them I'm just another normal kid. It was nice to just be normal for a bit."

Videl looked up at him, honestly surprised by his answer.

"If it was a month ago, before I came to school then I honestly wouldn't have cared if the truth came out or not. But back then, I didn't have anything to lose if the truth came out. But now, I'd lose a lot. I wouldn't be able to go to school and pretend I'm normal and have normal friends. Everyone would be weird around me. But what's even worse, is what Bulma said. There's no way I want to lose you."

Videl's eyes went wide as she realised what he just said. Gohan also seemed to realise what he'd just said and quickly tried to cover it up.

"I mean, you're like the best friend I've ever had," he said quickly. "And I don't want to be the reason that you and your Dad lose everything you have. And if you get run out of the city then there's a chance I might never see you again."

Gohan blushed brightly, looking away from her and hoping against hope that she wouldn't say anything.

Videl put her hand on Gohan's cheek, causing him to blink and surprise and then turned his head so he was facing her again.

"Are you an idiot? I don't care if the whole city turns on me. I'll still find a way to hound you. And once I learn that energy sensing crap I'll be able to find you _wherever_ you go, no matter how much you try to hide from me."

She grinned up at him, noticing the awe struck look on your face.

"You might as well face it Son Gohan, you're _not _going to be able to get rid of me. Not ever in a million years."

Gohan's shocked face turned into a grin to match her own.

"If I hid from you there's no way you'd ever find me," he said teasingly. "But it doesn't really matter. Since I don't think I'd ever want to hide from you anyway."

Videl smiled up at him.

"Great. So you're going to reveal the truth to everyone right?"

Gohan just grinned back at her.

**So fluffy chapter. Even us guys can appreciate a bit of fluff every now and then. And I thought after the whole Christmas present thing I should have them start to get closer. Well what's Gohan going to do now. Even I'm not completely decided I'll have you all know, because from here on out I've planned three alternative plots that should cover the next few chapters. Next update's Sunday for anyone wondering. Also I know there's probably a good few faults in whatever logic I've used this chapter but just go with it, things will pan out more interesting that way.**


	28. Far away Rice

**IMPORTANT: okay I know this chapter was late, and sadly there wasn't anything I could do about that, but I'm afraid to tell you this is the last update for a whole seven days. I'm taking a week off after this chapter to get some stuff sported since a lot of it's piled up then hopefully I'll be back with a new chapter on the 17****th**** September.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonball Z**

"Gohan, you cannot be serious?"

Gohan, Videl, Bulma and Chi-Chi were all at the kitchen table. It was Bulma who spoke in response to the plan Gohan had just presented them with. Bulma wasn't the only one who didn't approve of the plan. However, Chi-Chi was frowning too.

"Gohan I know that I raised you to be smarter than this. I am deeply disappointed. It would seem you're still too young to be making your own decisions."

Chi-Chi was glaring down at her son, who was looking pretty sheepish under her gaze.

Even Videl was baffled by the plan that Gohan had managed to concoct. Once he'd finished explaining everything, she'd simply sat next to him with her mouth open, completely unable to say anything.

"Why, what's wrong with the plan?" asked Gohan innocently, causing three sets of eyes to stare at him like he'd just announced the world was ending.

"Gohan, the press has already accused you of kidnapping Videl. Actually kidnapping her is not going to help," said Bulma, standing up and slapping her palms on the table.

"I never said we would kidnap Videl," said Gohan, cautiously shifting his eyes to the side to look at said girl, who was eyeing him in much the same way as Bulma and Chi-Chi were.

"I was just suggesting that we disappear for a bit. Clarity keeps using Videl and Mr Satan as bait to get me to come out, but if both the bait and the prey disappear, it'll seriously limit their options," said Gohan, trying to explain his logic to the two women who were staring him down.

"Maybe so Gohan, but all that really amounts to is running away, and I know that I raised you better than to run away from you problems," said Chi-Chi, crossing her arms and huffing.

"Plus, in the long run, I don't see how disappearing is going to solve anything," said Bulma, still trying to work her head around what Gohan had just told them minutes before.

"You're all missing the point of the plan."

The four people in the room turned their heads to face the speaker, who was none other than Vegeta, who was standing with his arms folded, leaning against the door frame with an expression which seemed to be a cross between a frown and a smirk.

"Well you're the last person I'd have thought would approve of this plan," stated Bulma, giving her husband a death glare. "Doesn't running away go against your Saiyan honour or something?"

"It does but he's not running away," stated Vegeta. "Rather he's savaging what he can of the situation. Notice that although he has said that both he and Videl should disappear for a while, he hasn't mentioned anything about the buffoon?"

Gohan blinked in surprise. Of all the people to understand his plan, he was not expecting it to be Vegeta.

"Go on brat, they seem to be listening now," said Vegeta, nodding to the two woman who were still trying to understand what was going on.

"Well, like Vegeta says Hercule is going to stay. He'll announce to the world that both Videl and me have disappeared."

"Videl and _I, _Gohan," said Chi-Chi, wagging her finger, causing Gohan to frown. If there was something he understood from school it's that no one spoke like that. It was always 'and me' never 'and I.'

"Right," said Gohan. "Well anyway, Hercule announced to the world that we're missing. Everyone's first guess will be that I'm a member of Clarity and I took her, which should hopefully spurn on the efforts of the police into actually finding Clarity. Another good point, is it should drive some of the public attention away from Clarity's speech and focus more on their actions. If you remember, Truth seemed really adamant that his organization didn't go too far, namely no killing. Obviously he doesn't want Clarity to be completely spurned by the public eye. Now he has already made several kidnapping attempts on Hercule and Videl, but all of them lasted for less than twenty four hours and Hercule's always been the main focus. But in this case it's Videl who's getting kidnapped and it'll be for a few days too. Hopefully this will have a negative effect on how the public sees them, since some people are already showing support for them," said Gohan, referring to something on the News that had been on earlier. "The only way out will be to publicly announce they don't have Videl and by extension of that I have nothing to do with them."

Both woman blinked, surprised by the potential Gohan's plan actually had. However all attention in the room was soon brought to Vegeta who was slowly clapping.

"Not bad for a brat, but leave it a few more years before you decided to play politics," he said. "There is a rather big flaw in your plan, that being it works both ways. For instance, if the public believes Videl is in their hands, what if they were to confirm this, and publicly announce to Hercule that if he does not admit the true events of the Cell games then they will harm his daughter. Hercule will not be able to refuse without either admitting the whole thing was a big charade or appearing as if he doesn't care about his daughter by declining."

"That one's simple, ask them for proof that Videl is okay. But I doubt Clarity would do something like that anyway. To force a man to say something on public television in order to keep his daughter safe isn't very good proof. Everyone would think Hercule only said what he did because his daughter's in danger."

Vegeta nodded his head, somewhat impressed with how well Gohan had thought things through. Personally, he had come up with a _much_ better plan. However, due to the high amount of explosions and blood shed his plan involved he did not expected either of the harpies or the brat to approve of it.

"That may be so, but there's more to this plan than letting on. Forcing your opponent to act is a good idea, but how it turns out is usually much more unpredictable than your making it seem. There's probably a hundred different ways the weaklings could turn this around, and even you can't think of all of them."

Gohan nodded, and was about to launch into another explanation before being interrupted by Videl.

"Don't I get a say in this?" she huffed, directing everyone's attention to her. "Gohan, what exactly do you mean by disappear?"

"Oh, well I thought that maybe we could stay with Dende for a bit. Or go hang around Master Roshi's house. I'd suggest going back to my home in the mountains, but if the police get my address that will probably be the first place they look for us."

Videl frowned.

"You've already assumed that I'm going to agree to this haven't you," she said, causing Gohan's body to go rigid for a moment. In truth he had just assumed she'd go along with it.

"Kind of," he admitted.

"Well there are more holes in the plan," said Bulma, before Gohan could continue. "You were seen taking Hercule and Videl. It'll be weird if Hercule escapes."

"No it won't," said Gohan. "He's the strongest man in the world remember? It shouldn't be a surprise for anyone if he manages to fend of his masked kidnapper, but due to unfortunate circumstances and an extreme amount of trickery on the kidnapper's side, they managed to get away with Videl."

"Alright, but what's the other half of this plan young man? And we want all of the details before we even consider letting you do this."

Gohan nodded before letting a smirk light up his face.

"Right, well here's what I thought we could do…"

* * *

A large hall had been set up for a press conference, there was a podium at the front of the hall, several security guards and a few hundred fold up chairs set out. Every single chair was taken, with near enough a hundred other people standing either at the back or around the hall. It wasn't long before Hercule Satan himself stepped into the hall. Merely yesterday he had turned up at his mansion, slightly beaten but not too worse for wear. Today, he was calling a press conference about what happened while he was at the station, after the cameras were cut out.

But the Hercule before the camera's today was much more solemn in comparison to how he usually is. His face seemed somewhat distraught and unlike usual he hadn't immediately started howling about his championship status. Instead he stood behind the podium that had been set up for him, and addressed his audience.

"I'm here to discuss the events of December 25th, Christmas day," he told the press. He'd had a script written out for him and he'd made sure to memorize it.

"A group of thugs who call themselves Clarity have been throwing wild accusations around. This group of tricksters and frauds have taught themselves the same tricks used by the fighters from the Cell Games, only as I'm sure you all noticed their versions of these tricks were far less convincing than the ones used by the gold fighter who appeared at the Cell Games, or even the tricks used by Cell himself. I won't go into detail as to what went on in that room, but I will tell you this. Those guys are cowards, using explosions to throw my daughter of balance breaking her arm and threatening to hurt her if I don't comply with their demands. They hid explosives in the room and used them to try and push me around. But I am the Champ, and I won't be bullied by the likes of these POSERS!"

After saying this Hercule brought his hand down with enough force to break the podium. He'd been instructed to do this beforehand, as a proper display of his strength and also to show how angry he was currently feeling.

"Now when these nobody's realised they didn't stand a chance against the champ, they resorted to blowing up the entire room and in the chaos managed to escape. Now in that situation my first priority, first and foremost was my fallen daughter, and protecting her from the debris. Unfortunately, I took a lot of damage from the explosion and although I don't like to admit this, I blacked out once I was certain that I had brought my daughter to safety. Now I'm not sure what happened in this time, but when I came to, both myself and my daughter were in the back of the van, along with my daughter's close friend Gohan, who as many of you will remember, helped me out of a dangerous situation a week ago. Both the kids were unconscious, and although I'm not sure why Gohan was also in the van, I'm going to assume knowing his personality, that he rushed to the TV station to help out, and after finding me and my daughter, he was captured along with us. Now although I was able to escape my binds, and fight my way out of the van, it is my deepest regret to say that I failed to protect Videl. When my kidnappers realized they wouldn't be able to contain me a second time, they did their best to distract me, and made off with the kids. It shames me to say that I was unable to protect both my daughter and his friend, but I will say that from this moment on I will be pouring all of my efforts and resources into finding my daughter, and the bastards who took herm and I will be expecting complete co-operation form the police force on this. Any questions?"

The reporters and journalists (pretty sure they're the same thing but just in case) immediately broke out into a rabble, as voices were raised, and shot into the air and the bright lights given of from the flashes of all the camera's present did their utmost best to blind Hercule.

"You," grunted Hercule, pointing to a red head in the front row. The woman in question stood in order to pose her question.

"What do you say to the people who believe that Clarity's accusations were not as wild as you claim them to be?" asked the reporter, skipping straight to the question Hercule was hoping wouldn't be asked, but just in case and answer had been prepared.

"I would say they were fools, and that right now I don't have time to bother with them. The safety of my daughter takes priority. Once she's safely returned home I will be more than happy to prove how fake these tricks really are," shouted Hercule, glaring at the reporter who paled slightly and sat back down.

"You," he said again pointing to a man in a tweed jacket.

"Yes I think we would all like to know how you managed to escape a building form the second floor, as it was collapsing," the man asked with a grin. Hercule merely scowled.

"I'm a martial arts master, how do you think I escaped," retorted Hercule, making sure to sound moody. Hercule had to admit he thought his acting skills were pretty top notch.

"It wasn't hard for me to make it to the ground floor by scaling the debris that had already fallen, but I had to use a back entrance to escape since the main entrance had been blocked of by the debris."

The reporter sat down, looking somewhat disappointed with Hercule's answer.

"Last question," barked Hercule, pointing to a second man with brown hair.

"Yes, you were seen in some footage to be on the roof of the Reletino Development agency, the building across from the station mere moments after its collapse along with your daughter and the aforementioned Gohan. Although we are aware you appear to be unconscious in the footage, do you have any thoughts as to why you were there, and how you managed to get there completely unnoticed by every other security camera in the building?" asked the reporter, posing another different question, but one for which Hercule had still been provided with an answer.

"Since I was unconscious from the moment I managed to escape the building, I have no idea what happened between then and when I woke up. You're going to have to ask the boy for the answer to those questions since I don't have a clue."

Hercule immediately left the podium once he had finished speaking, leaving the rabble of reporters to move after him, shouting questions at his retreating back. In the meantime Hercule's manager took to the remains of the podium.

"No more questions, thank you," said his managed with a very forced smile, before quickly leaving the podium and hurrying after Hercule.

* * *

The kame house door was opened by Krillin who was ecstatic to see who it was.

"Gohan, it's great to see you," he cried, grabbing his best friend's son into a death hug. "And Videl, it's great to see you too."

Videl nodded back, allowing a small smile to appear on her face at the sight of the small monk. He appeared to be wearing a DIY kit, with a belt slung round his waist with separate compartments for nails and hammers and tape measures and whatever else.

"We're renovating," he told them as he lead them inside. "Preparing the baby's room you know. There's not much room in this dusty old house, so we decided to make an extension on the back, kind of like a separate area where me and Eighteen could live."

He led them into the living room where Eighteen was busy watching Jeremy Kyle. Master Roshi was there too, sitting in the corner of the room reading a newspaper, although everyone was pretty sure there was a magazine of a certain kind hidden behind the newspaper.

"Hi Eighteen, hi Master Roshi," said Gohan upon entering the room.

Eighteen looked up from her program to nod her greetings, whereas Roshi jumped out his chair, closing the newspaper and stashing it behind his chair and looking over to the two teens, who had entered just behind Krillin.

"They're hiding out here for a while Master Roshi," said Krillin, frowning at the old man. "Remember, Bulma explained it on the phone."

Roshi nodded, suddenly remembering the phone call from the previous night.

"Oh right. I must be getting forgetful in my old age," he said.

"Right, well you two we do have a bit of a problem with space at the moment. Both the bedrooms are taken and there's only one couch. I honestly don't know where you're going to sleep," said Krillin, scratching his head.

"Oh, don't worry about it," said Gohan with a smile. "Videl can take the couch. I bought a sleeping bag so I'll be fine on the floor."

Krillin nodded.

"Gohan, don't take this the wrong way, but don't you think going to the Lookout would have been better?" asked Krillin. "I mean they have lots of rooms there."

"Yeah but we kind of need a TV," said Gohan. "We need to monitor what's happening for the first few days, just to make sure everything's working out. After that we'll head to the lookout, but do you think you could put with us till then," pleaded Gohan.

"Well of course we can," said Krillin. "You know I can't resist that face of yours Gohan, you just look too damn much like your father to ever say no to you."

Gohan gave him a large grin, before turning to Videl.

"Are the sleeping arrangements okay with you?" he asked, knowing better than to assume she'd just go along with what he said. But Videl just shrugged.

"I guess," she said.

Gohan nodded before turning back to Krillin.

"Then we're all set," he told him.

"Yeah well you're going to be expected to pull your weight while you here," said Krillin. "Gohan you're going to be helping me with the extension. Videl we don't have anything for you to do yet since your arms broke but do you think you can help Eighteen out if she needs it," he asked.

Videl blinked a few times before responding with "Sure."

In all honesty, she had no idea if she'd be any good with house work, since she'd always had servants and Cari to do that stuff for her, but she couldn't exactly refuse Krillin and besides she was kind of happy to finally get to do stuff for herself.

"Krillin, I'm not even three months along yet, I don't need any help," said Eighteen, eying her husband with distaste.

"Of course you don't honey, but Videl's got to do something while she's here. Just think of it as marriage training. After all Videl's going to be engaged to one day so she has to learn to take care of the house. Unless she wants Gohan to do it, in which case there probably won't be much of a house left. So who better to teach her these things than my own lovely fiancée who I'm pretty sure is going to make the best wife ever," he said, leaning down to kiss her on the cheek.

"Sexist bastard," muttered Eighteen, but a small blush did appear on her cheeks.

Videl was blushing too, since Krillin had all but implied that her and Gohan were going to be engaged in the future but for some reason she couldn't bring herself to refute it. And to her surprise, neither did Gohan.

"That sounds fine," said Gohan, his cheeks a little red from Krillin's comment.

Krillin grinned at him.

"Great, well haul all your stuff inside then come find me," said Krillin, heading off through a door, no doubt heading for the new section of the house that he was building.

"Okay then, I'll go get our suitcases," said Gohan cheerfully, heading back outside.

"Something tells me this is going to be an interesting week," muttered Videl, as she followed him.

**Well I hope you all enjoyed that. I hope you don't think things will slow down just because Gohan and Videl have removed themselves from the action. **


	29. Semi Warm Rice

**Well guys I'm back. Now I'm sure that all of you were expecting some kind of long chapter after a week's break. Sadly that's not the case. I'm still swamped, so finding time to wright the few thousand words I have done has been difficult enough as it is. Been a real sucky week for me, got to say. Luckily by Thursday, I should be finished with everything, and after that day, I should have plenty of time to write nice, longer chapters. Not going to make any promises though. So yeah, this chapters short, just getting back into things, then I can really kick stuff off next time. **

**Disclaimer: do not Own Dragonball Z**

Videl was training on the sandy shore of Kame Island. The sun was beating down, causing sparkles of sunlight to reflect off the sea. The young girl was punching and kicking at nothing, but continued yelling repeatedly. She'd improved enough now that even whilst wearing the weights that Gohan had brought for her, her fists and feet were mere blurs as she continued practicing, sweat pouring from her brow and down her back and torso. Watching her from the safety of his hammock, was Master Roshi. The old Turtle hermit couldn't help but feel disappointed as he watched the child.

"If only she were a few years older," he sighed miserably as he eyed her in her sweat covered clothing.

Gohan was busy helping Krillin with the renovations. With the added help of the young demi-saiyan, the two were making quick work of the renovations.

Despite Videl's claim that the week was going to be interesting, not much had happened so far. In the three days they'd been here, the only thing they'd heard on the news was the lack of progress made by the police regarding her disappearance. As Gohan had predicted, public opinion was now swiftly turning against Clarity. Doubts as to whether or not Hercule really did defeat Cell, seemed to be disappearing. At the very least, it was no longer discussed on the news. Clarity themselves had said nothing in their defence. Videl felt things were going a little _too_ perfectly.

After another twenty minutes of solo training, Videl decided it was time for a break. Leaving Master Roshi to his perverse imaginings of an older Videl, she headed inside to see if there was anything that Eighteen needed help with. She found the older lady sitting down watching the TV, so Videl grabbed a towel to wipe away her sweat and plopped down next to her.

"You really don't do much do you?" asked Videl as she eyes the older woman. Eighteen glanced back at her.

"Do I look like the type to do chores?" she asked, eyebrows raised.

"I know you're not the type," answered Videl. Despite what Krillin had said, Eighteen didn't seem to do much more than cooking the food in the kame house. Oolong was in charge of cleaning the house, and Krillin did all the washing, ironing and dishes. Videl was rather reminded of the times she used to wish she could have Gohan as her personal save. Because Krillin certainly seemed to be Eighteen's. Everything the woman said, he did. What's more Eighteen even had complete control over Gohan, which was something Videl felt a little jealous off, and she did this the same way she controlled everyone else in the house. She was in charge of the food, and if you didn't obey Eighteen, you didn't eat. It was such a simple method of control that Videl had decided to file away, just in case she ever needed it in future.

Apparently satisfied with Videl's answer, Eighteen returned to watching the TV. Silence reigned between the two for a few moments, the only sounds being the noise from the television and the occasional sound of hammering from where the two boys were working, until they heard a faint cry of 'Ow'.

"So," said Eighteen after their brief lapse into silence, "I've been meaning to ask. Are you and Gohan a thing?"

This seemed to shock Videl right out of the trance she'd been worming herself into.

"What? NO! We're not a… thing."

Her cheeks went red in response to Eighteen's question, and she avoided looking directly into Eighteen's eyes.

"Do you want to be?" asked Eighteen, decided that Videl's reaction was more humorous than the show she'd been watching.

"Of course I-I…"

Videl's attempt at denial was suddenly halted as she finally locked eyes with the android. They were strange eyes, a cold blue that seemed almost familiar. But more than that, they were like pools of ice that reflected all of Videl's secrets right back at her. She realised immediately that there was no use lying to Eighteen. Even if she did, she had no doubt the older lady would manage to coax the truth out of her. She'd been able to realize that much after the last few days she'd spent living with the android.

"Maybe," muttered Videl, quickly averting her eyes from those of the android's.

Eighteen smiled slyly down at the blushing Videl, completely forgetting about her show.

"Maybe, so that might as well be a yes then. And I'm pretty sure Gohan likes you too."

As expected that got a reaction out of Videl, who quickly whipped her head around to face the android again.

"Really? I mean, how do you know?"

Videl quickly tried to cover up her excitement, but it was proving rather fruitless.

"Well think about it," answered Eighteen. "He's training you in martial arts, protecting you from a dodgy organisation and doesn't seem to have a problem revealing some of his secrets to you. For something like friendship, he's investing a lot of time into you."

Videl blinked a few times, trying to poke a hole in what Eighteen had just said.

"Well, he's only training me because I asked him to, and I found out most of his secrets on my own," she countered. "And Gohan's so nice I doubt it would matter who was being targeted he'd still protect them."

But Eighteen shook her head.

"If that were the case, Gohan would just save you when need be, but other than that, he wouldn't mind other people keeping an eye on you. But that kid is _always _the first one out the door when you need help. In fact, on Christmas, when Truth did his little broadcast, the second Gohan saw you were in trouble he'd bolted to the door. We all had to physically restrain him and explain why going to help out straight away was a bad idea."

Videl's eyes widened a little and she felt a little happy as Eighteen told her the small story.

"If it was anyone else, Gohan would have thought about his approach to the situation rationally, and then acted. But since you were involved, Gohan threw rationality out the window."

Eighteen smiled at the sight of Videl's blushing cheeks as she continued to tell of the small episode. She was enjoying this. Usually she didn't enjoy playing match maker. The last time she'd tried was when Tien and Launch were having one of their funny moments, and Krillin had insisted that they go over along with Yamcha and act as peace brokers. Her approach on the situation at the time was to tell Tien to grow a pair, man up and apologize or she'd beat the shit of him herself.

"Ermm, but we're just kids," said Videl, who appeared to be grasping at straws now. "We're _way_ too young for that kind of stuff."

"You're never too young for that kind of stuff," answered Eighteen, her voice remaining at her usual monotonous pitch, despite the amused smile on her face. "Well the heavy duty stuff yeah, you're too young for that. But hell, even kindergarteners pair up these days. Just look at Trunks and Goten."

"… Eighteen I don't think I get what you're saying anymore," said Videl.

"You know, the two midgets. They're always together."  
"I thought you were going on about romantic relationships," said Videl, confusion now evident on her face.

"I am," answered Eighteen.

"…"

"Look, point is that age doesn't really come into the equation. If you like the kid, not much you can do about it. If he likes you, there's a lot you can do about that."

* * *

"Ow, my thumb."

Krillin waved his sore appendage with a look of mild pain on his face, earning a chuckle from Gohan. Not for the first time he'd managed to miss the nail with the hammer and smack his hand instead. Currently the two were nailing several pieces of wood across the support beams for the roof of the new house. These pieces of wood would allow the tiles to be placed on the roof, or at least they would as soon as Krillin managed to hammer them in correctly. With Gohan's help, the two had quickly finished almost everything else that needed to be done and now they just need to finish off the roof. By Gohan's estimate, they should be done some time the next day. Krillin wiped a gloved fist across his forehead, wiping away some of the sweat that had formed there from working under the sun.

"So, Gohan," he said. "You and Videl are awfully close aren't you?"

Gohan groaned, causing Krillin to grin at him.

"We're just friends," answered Gohan, doing his best to ignore Krillin and get back to work.

"Well we both know that's not true," snorted Krillin. "I mean friends don't normally snuggle up all nice and cosy on the couch now do they."

Gohan's head shot up, finally noticing that Krillin appeared to be messing with his phone.

"What are you talking about?" asked Gohan, eying the ex-monk suspiciously.

"I'm talking about Christmas night after your little showdown with Truth. You and Videl got a little close to each other, right Gohan?"

Krillin grinned at him, and then quickly turned his mobile so Gohan could see. On the screen was a picture of Gohan and Videl both asleep on Bulma's couch. Gohan was leaning back with an arm around Videl who seemed to have curled up at his side with her head resting on his chest. Gohan blushed at the sight of the picture, and did his best to ignore the suggestive smirk that was plastered across Krillin's face.

"Yup, you and Videl look _mighty_ friendly right there," Krillin snickered.

Gohan looked away still heavily blushing.

"Shut up Krillin."

"Aww come on," teased the monk. "It's obvious you two like each other, so I don't see what the big deal is."

"The big deal Krillin is… is… look she doesn't like me that way okay," huffed Gohan. But even though he said that, the memory of Videl's so called Christmas present immediately made it to the forefront of Gohan's mind and straight away his face flushed deeper. This did not escape the notice of Krillin.

'Doesn't like you like that. Gohan, newsflash. Girls do not just agree to be kidnapped and taken half way across the globe. Bedsides, just look at the two of you in this picture. If a picture's worth a thousand words then I'd say three of them are coming through pretty clear, Videl loves Gohan.'

Krillin snickered happily to himself, as so much blood rushed to Gohan's head that he started feeling faint that he fell of the roof. Krillin stopped sniggering long enough to look over the edge to see anted Gohan firmly implanted in the sand below.

"Well I think I just managed to defeat a Super Saiyan," said Krillin happily.

* * *

**Knock Knock Knock**

Seventeen couldn't help but groan. The whelp was back again. Interestingly enough, the last time he'd come knocking on the door he'd had five large bruises outlining his face. Seventeen was _pretty _sure it had something to do with that broadcast that had been on Christmas day.

**Knock Knock Knock**

With a sigh, Seventeen hauled himself to his feet. He flung the empty bottle of beer over to the bin next to his small kitchenette.

"If there's one bad thing about being an android it's the inability to get drunk," he muttered to himself. Finally reaching the door he opened it to reveal a boy, no older than fourteen or fifteen standing in his doorway.

"Look Kid, just leave already. I'm not going to train you or anyone else, and I'm definitely not going to help out with your little organisation either."

Seventeen tried to slam the door in the boy's face but the boy caught the door before it did. Before Seventeen could complain, the boy shoved the door forwards a little and managed to squeeze himself through the gap and into Seventeen's apartment. The place only had one room, with a small kitchenette in one corner, an unused bed against a wall and a TV against another. A worn and beaten old couch was in the middle of the room with a large table in front of it. On the table were several empty bottles of alcohol, with more rolling around on the floor. Several more smashed bottles seemed to be surrounding the bin located in the kitchenette. There were empty pots of cupped noodles on the table and several sets of clothes were spread out in heaps across the floor. All in all it looked like a boys' room, only apartment sized.

Seventeen glared at the boy before giving a shrug of the shoulders and heading over to his fridge. He pulled out a bottle of 'Satan Brew' before heading back over to the couch to resume watching his world's stupidest criminal's show.

"I don't get it, aren't you bored living in a world like this?" asked the boy, standing behind the couch. Seventeen took a nonchalant swig of his beer, not taking his eyes of the screen in front of him.

"Not really," he answered.

"Someone like you, who's constantly bored must be dying for a challenge right? Well if you help us, then pretty soon the whole world will become a challenge. Powerful fighters will start emerging one after another."

Seventeen snorted.

"Please, you think that just because the Human race learns to use ki any of them would be able to challenge me? No, I'd just be disappointed, now get out."

The boy growled, clearly beginning to lose his temper.

"Look just help us. I promise it won't be boring. You'll be helping to create a brand new world."

"Full of idiots and pretty lights," chortled Seventeen. "Honestly, that new world better future bullshit doesn't interest me. Try someone else."

"We don't know about anyone else," said the boy. "Look, we all came together because of you. Before you came along, my father was just a martial arts enthusiast who didn't believe that Hercule beat Cell. But when people saw you fight you became the proof he needed to gain some support and start his organisation. Clarity exists because of you, you're responsible for us."

Seventeen let an out a long dry round of laughter, causing the boy to take a few steps back.

"Look, spare me the rehearsed drivel. Pretty little speeches aren't going to convince me to do anything."

Seventeen followed up with another gulp of Satan Brew as the boy's temper increased.

"Alright, fine enough with the bullshit."

Seventeen looked behind him at the enraged boy, and lifted an eyebrow as he felt the boy's ki rise along with his rage.

"Look, I really don't care if Clarity succeeds or not," said the boy, his words coming out between angry snarls. "Who did or didn't beat Cell doesn't really matter to me, that's my Dad's obsession. But even so, I want you to train me."

Seventeen stared at the boy for a few moments before draining his beer and throwing the empty bottle to join the others by the bin.

"Why?" questioned Seventeen, his interest slightly piqued.

"Because there are some people I want to kill."

Seventeen gave a small laugh and then allowed himself a curious grin.

"Who?"

"First off, I just wanted to kill Hercule Satan. I wanted his little bitch of a daughter, Videl to experience what it's like not having a Dad."

"…Not really following you there, pretty sure you got a dad, not seeing the need for any jealousy there. But go on."

The Boy seemed to ignore Seventeen's input, instead hardening his eyes and narrowing them into slits.

"The other one I want to kill is the kid who did this to me," he said, pointing to the bruises that still blemished his face. "I want to make him suffer for the pain him put me through."

"I see," said Seventeen, his tone curious. "And who exactly did do that to you?"

The boy growled, his eyes flashing with anger.

"His name is Son Gohan. I don't know that much about him other than he's really strong."

There was silence for a few minutes as Seventeen processed what the boy had just told him. Then he burst out into an insane cackling, causing the boy to jolt back a few steps.

"You want to kill Son Gohan? Now _that's _interesting_."_

**So will Seventeen finally join Clarity's tirade. Will Gohan and Videl finally confess their feelings. And will Akira Toriyama ever bow to my threats and hand me ownership of Dragonball Z. That last question should hopefully get answered in next chapters disclaimer. By the way anyone else here ever heard of Dragonball online? Because I got to say I find the Majin race creation story hilarious. An entire race of beings, all because Majin Buu finds a porno mag. Just makes me lol. Anyway see all you guys next chapter. **


	30. Awaiting Rice

**Hi guys I'm back. Sorry for the wait, but hey the chapters ere now. Well I would go into why it took so long but Silver-chan did it for me. But hopefully after this I'll be able to somewhat return to my usual pace. **

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**Hey readers! It's Silver-chan (SSJ2 Silven) once again! Sweet readers, AnisoulJ93 has been sick the past week, so he hasn't been able to make a chapter. Even awesome people get sick now and then. Hope you all like this chapter, and spread around that 'DBZ Broken Record' has a new chapter! Sorry for some of the mess-ups. My computer doesn't correct grammar, and I realize that the grammar is weird. For those of you wondering, AnisoulJ93 ****has told you, he is British. I for one, am American. So please forgive our mixing grammar! I love you very much readers! Please review.**

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**Disclaimer: I don't own Dragonball Z.**

Life on Kame Island had been different as of lately. Krillin and Gohan had finally finished the extension on the back of the house, and now spent their time sparring with Videl. It had been just under a week since the two arrived on the island, and Gohan was now watching Videl spar with Master Roshi. He noticed with some pride that Videl was successfully dodging each of his blows, although she was also failing to land any of her own.

"Ho, well aren't you a spry young wiper snapper," said Master Roshi as Videl flipped over him to avoid another combo.

Videl merely grunted in response before moving in, shooting to the side and aiming a blow for his head. Master Roshi dodged to the right and snapped out a leg at her own, hoping to knock her of balance. But Videl took to the air with another kick, spinning her torso and waist in an attempt to hit the man, who leisurely jumped back again. Quickly forming a plan, Videl charged a Ki blast and launched it at the sand in front of Master Roshi, kicking it all up into his face. Taking advantage of the moment of distraction to quickly move behind the turtle hermit and attempt to shove a knee into his back. For a moment she thought she'd succeeded before his image suddenly disappeared.

"Huh," muttered Videl before a foot smashed into her side and sent her flying into the spray of the sea.

"Ho, you fell for the old after image technique. The oldest trick in the book."

Videl, who had been sent sprawling half into the sea, now sat back up spitting out a mouth full of sea water. She sent an annoyed glare at the old turtle hermit, as the water rushed around her.

"I almost had you that time," she grumbled, to the amusement of the old hermit.

"You did good." said Gohan, walking over to her and offering her a hand, which Videl accepted, allowing herself to be hoisted up out of the spray.

"My clothes are all wet," she commented, placing her hands on her hips and pouting.

"Go change then," said Gohan, quickly shifting his eyes away from said wet clothes, his cheeks growing red as he did. Noticing this, Videl looked down at herself to see what caused his reaction. Her cheeks flushed as she realised her large baggy white shirt was now practically see through. She gave a small squeak before crossing her arms over her chest and running back into the house.

"If only she was a few years older," sighed Master Roshi, earning him a glare from Gohan.

"And what if she was a few years older," asked Gohan, his voice holding an uncharacteristic harshness to it.

"Eh? Oh nothing, nothing," said Master Roshi quickly, waving his arms and shaking his head.

Gohan continued to glare at Master Roshi for a second before slowly following after Videl into the house.

The sound of the shower's water spraying down could be heard coming from the direction of the bathroom, providing a rather obvious hint to Gohan as to where exactly Videl had gone. So instead of following Videl, Gohan decided to follow his nose, entering the small kitchen area to see what Eighteen was making. Several pots had shaking lids, evidence of the boiling liquids inside of them. Eighteen was moving gracefully around the kitchen, making adjustments to the food where adjustments needed to be made. Gohan always found himself in a small amount of wander as he watched her work, an ex-killing machine bustling around the kitchen preparing a meal for her family. It was something that brought a smile to his face. Looking at her, he could understand his Dad's eagerness to spare his opponents no matter how horrible or evil they may be. Of course, Eighteen might not be the best example. As far as he knew she'd never actually hurt anybody in the first place.

Gohan was broken out of his musings when Eighteen noticed him staring at her. She threw him a playful glare as she began to prepare the plates she'd set aside.

"You Saiyan's and you're eating habits," she commented dryly. "I've had to start cooking earlier ever since you arrived just to meet the quota."

Gohan grinned before offering her a simple shrug. Eighteen turned back to the food she was preparing, stacking one particular plate with much more food than the others. Then she swiftly removed the apron she was wearing and tossed it carelessly into the corner before walking off to call the other members of the household for dinner. Gohan happily took his place at the table, soon joined by Videl, who was roughly running a towel back and forth over her head. She was now wearing a pair of loose white shorts and a purple shirt as she took her seat next to Gohan. She continued to tousle her hair for a minute before tossing the towel into the corner where it joined a pile of washing. The two teens sat in silence as they waited for everyone else to return to the table. Gohan spared a glance at the girl next to him out of the corner of his eye. Her hair was still damp and had been left to fall in waves over her shoulders and down her back. The shirt was slightly tighter fitting than what she'd normally wear, showing off her figure, somewhat better than she normally does. He noticed her own eyes flicker in his direction, causing him to turn away, hoping he hadn't been caught staring.

His thoughts were interrupted by the entrance of Eighteen, Krillin and Master Roshi. Turtle was apparently on another vacation. Roshi sat at the head of the table and Krillin next to him. Eighteen went to grab the plates of food before setting them down in front their intended consumer. Videl noticed with interest, that whereas everyone else had some form or structure to their food, Gohan's plate lacked any form of structure at all. Instead food had simply been piled up on the plate. It was still a far cry from what he would usually eat but still equivalent to five or six meals for anyone else. As soon as Eighteen had sat down Gohan began eating, shovelling food into his mouth at an incredible pace. Videl ignored him in favour of dinner talk.

"Whenever I see him like that he reminds me of his father," commented Master Roshi, pointing to Gohan with his fork. Gohan didn't seem to notice, rather he kept on eating.

"Yeah, I know what you mean," said Krillin. "Remember the first time we fought in the tournament? Afterwards you took us out to eat."

"Oh I remember," said Master Roshi darkly. "Little scamp ate fifty eight main courses worth of food. He only stopped because he wanted to save room for dessert."

Videl's fork stopped half way to her mouth. Fifty Eight courses? That's even worse than Gohan. And if she remembered correctly Goku was only twelve when he entered the world tournament for the first time. Where the hell does a kid put all that?"

"Spent all my darn prize money," said Roshi gruffly with a nod.

"Your prize money?" asked Krillin with a frown. "What do you mean by that master?"

"Oh, I uhh I mean. He spent the equivalent of the tournament prize money. Not my prize money ha ha ha. Honestly Krillin, where did you get an idea like that?"

Krillin eyes him suspiciously but went back to eating his food none the less. Master Roshi gave a small sigh of relief and wiped his brow of the sweat that had been forming. The table fell into silence for a few moments, until Gohan gave a satisfied sigh signifying that he'd finished eating.

"So Gohan, how much longer do you intend to stay here?" asked Krillin

"Actually Videl and I are leaving tomorrow," said Gohan, happily. Videl stopped eating.

"Really, where are we going?" she asked.

"Well I'll be taking you to see Dende, but before that, we're going to a place called Korrin's Tower."

Once Gohan had said this, Master Roshi put down his fork to join the conversation.

"Are you sure that's wise Gohan? Not many have the ability to climb to the top of that tower, and although she is strong I do not think that Videl is ready to tackle it yet."

Gohan just smiled at the old master.

"Well we won't know until we try," he said happily.

"Umm Gohan?" asked Videl.

"Yes Videl," said Gohan.

"What's Korrin's tower?"

He blinked at her a few times, trying to figure out how to answer her properly.

"It's a really big tower," he said. "That goes higher than any plane can fly. Anyone who can climb all the way up to the top unaided will get drink of water from the tower's guardian, a cat named Korrin. The water is supposed to make you stronger."

"Wait if it's higher than a plane can fly to, how you are supposed to climb all the way to the top?" asked Videl.

"Just climb. My father did it when he was our age, but I don't really know how strong he was when he did it, so it's hard for me to guess how strong you need to be to get to the top. Still no harm in trying right?"

"Yeah other than the fact it takes days of nonstop climbing," said Krillin. "And if you fall off you probably won't have the energy left to fly so instead you'll be stuck with a really long drop and a sudden stop."

"It's fine Krillin, if she falls I'll just catch her," said Gohan.

Krillin mumbled something and returned to his meal, followed by Roshi.

"She should be fine," inputted Eighteen. "If an old pervert like Roshi can climb the tower, I see no reason why Videl can't."

"Because I trained for years, pushing my body past it's natural limits and getting stronger and stronger. Videl's been training for a month and a half. Even Goku only attempted the tower after a year or so of training."

Dinner talk continued for ten minutes, the occupants of the table arguing back and forth between whether or not Videl should attempt the tower. In the end, Gohan insisted she should try and Videl was completely determined to prove everyone wrong and climb right to the top of the tower.

That night Videl was positioned comfortably on the couch, arms in the form of a triangle underneath her pillow, on which rested her head. Her eyes looked unblinking towards the ceiling, doing her best to ignore the sound of the soft snores coming from the side of her, where Gohan lay only a few feet away on the floor, curled up in his sleeping bag. She was wearing a pair of his pyjamas: a blue button up shirt that was slightly too big for her and large baggy bottoms. Gohan simply wore a white vest top and an extra pair of bottoms. She glanced over to him, taking notice of his sleeping face. She could make out his features even in the dark, especially with the pale glow of the moonlight shining off of him.

She remembered back to her conversation with Eighteen a few days ago. The advice she'd received back then was to make a move. But she still wasn't really sure of it herself. What if Gohan didn't like her in that way? They'd feel awkward around each other, and then he might abandon her. No, Gohan would never do anything like that. He's way too kind. Videl couldn't help but sigh to herself. Gohan was after all, by far the kindest person she knew. And the strongest. He'd helped her in ways no one else could, and always did his best to keep her safe. In a way it really annoyed her. When she was with him, she didn't feel like the daughter of a world saviour or a fighter or anything like that. She just felt like a girl. In her entire life he was the only person who ever made her feel like she was _just_ a girl. A feeling that was both exhilarating and annoying at the same time. Everything she'd worked towards and everything she'd wanted to become became unravelled upon meeting him. She remembered back to her fight with Zack, how Truth had said that he'd broken her body and soul. But that was a lie. She'd been broken long before then. She'd thought of herself as the strongest teen, and that was how she'd presented herself. But Gohan had broken her out of that misconception. She'd amassed a record for catching any criminal she chased. But Gohan had broken that record too, although he probably never actually tried to steal that woman's purse. The image of her father, as the strongest man alive, he'd broken that too. Every misconception she'd made, every lie she believed. He'd broken through all of them, and dragged her in front of the truth, and she pretty much loved him for it.

In fact now that she thought about it, they had a _pretty _odd relationship. She was the daughter of the man who stole his credit and publically humiliated his dead father. He was the boy who really killed Cell and done more for her family than anyone else ever has or would. And now that she thought about it, she'd never really done anything to thank him for that.

Videl averted her eyes from the sleeping boy and then closed them. She began to think of all the time she'd spent with Gohan, and all the things he'd done for her. But what could she do for him, really? Gohan didn't seem to really want anything. In fact he seemed fully content with everything he already had.

Videl frowned to herself.

There had to be something she could do for him.

The next morning went quickly. There things were packed away, and Eighteen treated them to a large breakfast. Krillin explained the basics of the after image technique to Videl and told her that she should try it out for herself some time. Gohan spoke quietly with Master Roshi for an hour, away from everyone else, before joining Videl in front of the Kame house to say goodbye.

"Good luck you two," said Krillin, shaking Gohan's hand, and extending one out to Videl as well.

"Yeah. See you later Krillin," she said, shaking his hand. Eighteen and Roshi also shook Gohan's hand before moving on to Videl. She shook Master Roshi's hand, but grabbed Eighteen into a hug before she could protest.

"I'll miss you Eighteen," she said a little sadly. "I think you'll make a great mother."

"Erm, thanks," responded the android, blushing a little over Videl's words and trying not to show how uncomfortable she felt with the situation show on her face. At last all the goodbyes were made, and Gohan and Videl flew off into the distance.

"Those two are so going to be together before the end of the month," said Krillin with a snicker. Eighteen nodded in agreement with her husband.

* * *

Gohan touched down at the base of the tower, holding a rather tired Videl on his back. She could only fly short distances so far, although she was getting better all the time. She'd nearly lasted for a hundred miles before he needed to catch her to stop her falling out of the sky. She grumbled something about not needing help but didn't object when he crouched down in front of her and told her to get on. Once he'd touched down he'd let her off, catching her arm quickly in case she was still unsteady on her feet.

"Hello there."

The two teens turned around to come face to face with a rather tall looking man in traditional garbs. He looked strongly built and seemed to have emerged from a tent. His face didn't seem unfriendly, rather curious and a little guarded.

"Forgive me for sounding rude but this is sacred ground. If you have no reason to be hear I request that you move along."

Gohan turned and smiled at the slightly intimidating man.

"Hello there, you must be Upa," he said.

The man raised an eyebrow.

"Do I know you?"

Gohan shook his head.

"No but you knew my father. His name was Son Goku. I am his son, Son Gohan. And this is my friend Videl," he said, pointing to Videl who responded with a small "Hello."

To Videl's amazement, Upa's face broke into a wide smile.

"Ah, Son Goku yes! I definitely remember him. He did a great favour for me, and as such I am forever in his debt."

Then the man's face turned into a frown.

"Wait you said knew?"

Gohan's smile also disappeared as he prepared to answer.

"My father died a few years ago," he answered, causing a disbelieving look to appear on Uppa's face.

"Is that so. I always believed Goku to be the type of man it was simply impossible to kill. I am deeply sorry to hear of his passing."

"We all are," said Gohan, forcing a smile back onto his face. "But that's not why we're here. I was hoping to have my friend Videl here attempt to climb the tower, if that's okay with you."

The man's face lit up in a smile again.

"But of course. I must warn you however that climbing the tower is no easy task. Many have tried and almost all of them have failed. It would be best not to underestimate it.

"We won't," answered Gohan. "But I was hoping we could wait until tomorrow to start climbing."

"Of course," said Upa. "A son of Goku is welcome here whenever he wishes. But first come and meet my father. Then we shall see what we can do about sleeping arrangements."

The man turned on his feet and began walking to a tent set up further back. After a moment, both Videl and Gohan decided to follow.

"Why are we waiting until tomorrow?" asked Videl. "Why not just climb the tower now?"

"Because you already used up a lot of energy flying here. And besides, it's best to do this after a good night's rest and a full stomach," answered Gohan.

Videl frowned a little but accepted his answer none the less.

"Hey do you realise that school starts again tomorrow," she said. "Now that I think about it, I wonder how Erasa is doing. She doesn't know anything about all this. She's probably worried sick about me."

"She probably thinks I kidnapped you," said Gohan with a frown.

"That's going to be a fun conversation when we get back," said Videl, also frowning.

Their conversation was cut short when the two finally reached the tent in front of them.

"This is my father, his name is Bora," introduced Upa, as another man in traditional garments emerged from the tent. Unlike his son, this man was huge.

"He's even bigger than Father," whispered Videl under her breath.

The man looked older and far more ferocious than Upa, his muscles bulged and looked more solid than steel. His once black hair had begun to fade to grey and his grizzly eyes showed he was wiser than most would think.

"Upa, who are these two?" he questioned from his position towering over them.

"Ah, this is Gohan and his friend Videl. Gohan says he is the son of Goku," answered Upa excitedly.

"Hello," said Gohan with a small bow. Videl followed the action, doing her best not to give in to temptation and ask the age old joke 'How's the weather up there.'

The man's face leered down, looking directly into Gohan's eyes. Then he broke out into a large smile.

"Yes, I see Goku's spirit in you. And kindness that you do not often find and a sense of honesty that is lost to most."

Gohan smiled back up at Bora.

"Thanks." he said.

"I have not seen your father for many years. He did me a great service, for which I have never had a chance to repay him. As such I shall assist you, his son in any way you ask. But first tell me, how is your father?"

Once again Gohan and Upa's expressions fell to give away to sadness.

"He died a few years back," answered Gohan.

Bora's eyes widened a little.

"I see. Did he die well?"

Gohan nodded his head.

"He died as he lived," he answered, "saving everyone else."

Bora nodded his head again.

"I would expect nothing less from him. Now tell me young one, what is your purpose here?"

So Gohan told Bora of his plans to have Videl climb the tower, and how he wished to stay down here the night first. Bora listened and nodded at the end.

"This is fine. Upa's wife Arella, is currently down at the stream collecting some water. If it is not too much trouble, could you go and assist her? I will have another tent set up for you by the time you get back."

Gohan nodded.

"That's fine. And thank you for your hospitality."

Within minutes Gohan and Videl had headed into the woods, after being given a few brief directions by Upa. The two set out, walking calmly through the trees.

"They said they'd do whatever they can to help, but now they've gotten us collecting water," huffed Videl.

Gohan gave a small chuckle.

"They just want to talk amongst themselves for a bit," said Gohan. "Besides you can't actually tell me you mind?"

Gohan raised an eyebrow and flashed her a smile, causing her to look away and blush a little.

"N-no, of course not," she answered.

Gohan chuckled and looked back ahead of him. Soon they exited the forest and came upon the sight of the stream. Knelt down beside it, was a woman in a traditional dress with a feather sticking out of a headband. Videl noticed she was young and pretty, but despite her fragile appearance Videl had no doubt she was stronger than she looked.

"Hello," called Gohan with a wave, causing the woman to jump a little.

"My gosh, you scared me," she said once she'd looked up and saw two harmless looking kids. "This place is far out from any city or town, may I ask what you two are doing here?"

"Bora sent us to help with the water," answered Gohan. "By the way, my name's Gohan."

"And I'm Videl," Videl said quickly, rather than letting Gohan introduce her again.

The woman eyed them with a small amount of suspicion.

"I see. Well my name is Arella. And if you have truly been sent to help me then I will not deny your help. These buckets are quite heavy you know," she said with a chuckle, pointing to three large buckets all full with water. Then she dragged a fourth bucket and placed it down next to the first three.

"Usually I have to do two trips," she told them, "But with you two here I suppose that won't be a problem."

But Arella thinking that the two could take a bucket each, Gohan and Videl both grabbed two buckets a piece easily carrying them back through the forest leaving Arella to follow them carrying nothing. The two teens filled her in on what they were doing here, and after a ten minute walk, the three found themselves back at the camp, just as Upa and Bora stepped away from a new tent.

"Ah, you're back. Excellent," commented the older of the two upon noticing them. "I trust there is no longer a need for introductions."

Gohan simply nodded with a smile.

"Good. Upa shall now go and find us something to eat," said Bora, smiling down at his son. Upa nodded and ran over to his tent, re-emerging from inside with a large bow and a quiver of arrows.

"Oh, I can help if you want," said Gohan excitedly.

"But you are our guest," said Bora. "And you have already assisted Arella."

Gohan gave a chuckle and scratched the back of his head.

"Yeah, but I feel like helping," he said. "After all, you gave us a place to stay and even built a tent for us."

Bora shook his head but he was wearing a smile on his face.

"You are truly just like you father. Very well. Wait one moment and I will fetch you my bow."

A few minutes later both Upa and Gohan were heading off into the woods, leaving Videl to converse with Arella and Bora. Bora spent the time telling her about how he met Goku, and saved Upa. He told her of Mercenary Tao. He told her of how he was killed, but thanks to the dragon balls he was brought back to life.

Arella also listened. Although she'd heard her husband and father in law speak of Goku she'd never heard the full tale.

"Gohan's dad sounds amazing," said Videl, once Bora had finished his tale.

"He truly was," said Bora. "But you must know more of him than me. You seem rather close to his son after all."

Videl shook her head though.

"I like to think I'm close to him," she admitted. "But I still feel like there's a _lot_ about him I don't know. He doesn't speak much about his father."

Bora said nothing, but Arella spoke up.

"I'm sure he'll open up to you. After all there should be no secrets between lovers" she said cheerfully. Videl's cheeks flushed a very deep red when Arella spoke.

"L-l-lovers! We're not lovers!" she said, stuttering her words.

"Oh, but you seemed so close," said Arella, tilting her head in confusion. "Why, you remind me of me and Upa."

Videl tried not to blush harder but she couldn't help it. Then she cursed at herself.

'Why does it seem all I'm doing lately is blushing,' she thought to herself.

Arella giggled at the look on Videl's face, and even Bora released a chuckle.

"Yes, I think we can say with certainty that you and Gohan are closer than friend's young miss," he commented. "Gohan is _very _protective of you. Always standing close and tense, ready to defend you at a seconds notice. I have seen it many times in my life. I think it's obvious of your feelings for him. Now lift your head young one, there is nothing to be ashamed off. To love another is a beautiful thing."

"L-love," Videl stuttered again. "I admit I might have a bit of a c-crush on him, but I wouldn't say love."

This caused Bora to laugh again.

"You city folk, so used to shielding your emotions you no longer recognize them, even your own."

"Well I think that's enough teasing," said Arella with a chuckle. "I shall go prepare the fire for Upa and Gohan's return.

With that, the young woman stood up and headed over to a ready and waiting fire pit. Bora smiled after her before looked back down to Videl again who was also on her feet. Even sitting down, he towered over her.

"Young Videl," he said, earning her attention. Especially since he saw fit to stick the word young on the front.

"Your feelings are nothing to be ashamed off, nor is there anything wrong with them. Do not think too hard on them."

He smiled at her, and Videl found herself smile back. She gave him a little bow and headed over to Arella by the fire pit, while she awaited Gohan's return.

**Okay so I raced rhrough all the mildly unimportant stuff so I can get straight to business next chapter. Now a lot of the things I've done may seem pointless right now, but trust me there not. And why I've done those seemingly important things will become apparent later on. So for now I have you've enjoyed the chapter, because after this one we start getting on to the exciting stuff.**


	31. Restless Rice

Hi guys, here we have chapter 31. Was supposed to be up yesterday, but circumstances are a bitch. Well guys I hope you all continue supporting this fic. Without the motivation you guys give me to write I probably would have stopped by now. Not altogether but there'd probably be a couple of weeks between updates.

Hi guy! Silver-chan here! I love you all! We are almost the 10th most reviewed DBZ story! Thank you amazing readers and reviewers and thank you to AnisoulJ93 for writing this! Please review and enjoy this fun chapter!

Disclaimer: I do not own the seven dragonballs. There for I cannot wish for the rights to own dragonball and dragonball Z. But it WILL happen!

Videl let out a sigh. She was sitting in front of the smouldering embers of what used to be a raging campfire. But now, all that was left of it was charred wood. She looked behind her, where the tent that Bora and Upa had set up for her and Gohan was. Inside, her friend was sleeping soundly, yet she found it much more difficult to get to sleep. After all, she was lying next to Gohan, and try as she might to go to sleep, Eighteen's words kept coming back to mind.

"_If he likes you, there's a lot you can do about that."_

"Well if he liked me, maybe he'd have as much trouble sleeping as I do," she muttered to herself. She was so lost in her own thoughts she didn't register a presence behind her until it reached out and touched her shoulder.

Surprised, Videl let out a yelp, instantly jumping up into a stance where she could easily defend herself. She relaxed however when she realised it was just Upa.

"I apologize if I startled you," he said with a small meek smile. "Believe me, it was not my intention."

Videl let out a breath she hadn't realised she'd been holding before she replied.

"That's alright. Don't worry about it," she said. "What are you doing up?"

Upa smiled at her question.

"Well I was going to ask you the same thing. You have a big day tomorrow, and you really should get your rest," he told her.

Videl sat back down where she'd been sitting.

"I had trouble sleeping," she admitted. "I'll try again in a minute."

Upa nodded before unexpectedly taking a seat beside her.

"If Gohan believes you are capable of climbing the tower, you must be very strong," he told her.

Videl nodded before changing her mind and shaking her head.

"I thought I was," she told him. "But now I just lose all the time."

Upa gave a small chuckle.

"Me too," he told her, causing her to raise an eyebrow. But then he pointed up.

"To the tower, I mean. When I was a child, Gohan's father Goku appeared. He scaled that tower in one attempt, the first to do so in centuries. I witnessed first-hand Goku's strength and abilities. I wished to be like him. So I trained myself and when I turned sixteen, I tried to climb the tower, but I could not make it. The year after I tried again, but still I could not make it. For seven long years I tried to scale that tower, and each time I would get further up than the last. But not once did I ever reach the top. Eventually the inevitable happened. I fell from the tower, a very large distance. I was lucky to survive the fall, however my arm did not receive the same blessing."

Videl's eye's widened a little as she listened to Upa's story, thinking back to how she'd broken her own arm a mere week ago. Now, the thing was practically fully healed.

"I soon realised that climbing the tower had become an impossible dream for me. But perhaps it is not impossible for you," he said with a wink. Then he slowly got to his feet and stretched his back, before he began heading back to his own tent.

"Hey wait," called out Videl, causing him to stop in his tracks. "Will you spar with me?"

Upa raised an eyebrow.

"For what purpose?" he asked.

Videl nervously fumed the hem of her shirt as she contemplated her answer to him.

"You said you weren't strong enough to climb the tower. So I want to fight, since if I can't beat you, then I definitely can't reach the top of it either."

Upa seemed to consider her for a second before smiling. He walked out in to the open and away from the Tents before beckoning her over.

"Very well then, let's see what you can do."

Then he took his stance. Videl stood opposite of him, before taking her own and then studying his.

It was somewhat sloppy, she decided. Upa obviously wasn't a martial artist, rather a pure bred fighter. She was snapped away from her thoughts when Upa suddenly flew at her.

He stuck out an elbow that she managed to dodge by leaning to the side. Regaining his footing Upa ducked and spun, attempting to sweep her, but Videl jumped over the blow and aimed a kick for Upa's head. He blocked it with his for arm, which he then shot forward. Videl caught his fist in her hand before it made contact with her face, and then used said fist as a pivot, rotating around it and bringing her foot down hard on Upa's head. Upa began to fall backwards and for a moment Videl thought that was the end of it. Before Upa's hand shot out again, grabbing her ankle. Before she had time to realise what was going on, Upa swung her by her ankle over his head and smacked her off the floor. Then he spun and threw her. Videl managed to regain control in mid-air, spinning her body and landing on her feet.

'His not making much use of his right arm,' she realised. 'So that's probably the one he's injured.'

Quickly decided her next cause of action, Videl rushed the large man, who simply smiled back. She aimed a kick to his right set of ribs, and as she predicted Upa jumped back rather than try to dodge it this time. The sudden movement caused Upa to lose balance somewhat and Videl immediately capitalized on it. She shot her hand forwards and grabbed on to his wrist before pulling him closer to her. She quickly let go of the wrist and planted a left jib into his right ribs. Before he could defend she followed with two right jabs, then shot to the right as Upa focused on defending the right side of his body. Videl aimed a kick at the back of Upa's knee causing him to buckle. She quickly took advantage of this to place another kick to the head exactly where she'd hit him earlier, causing Upa to stumble backwards. But he still didn't fall.

"What the hell is he made off," grumbled Videl, as she watched him rub at his head like her kick had been a minor irritation. Noticing her scowl he smiled at her.

"The people off out tribe train our body's vigorously, to be as hard as stone. By doing so we have no fear of most forms of modern weaponry, specifically guns. Although a highly trained weapons user will still cause us problems," he explained.

'Well that's just great, he's immune to anything short of a rocket launcher,' grumbled Videl in her mind. 'Wait a minute, this guy's definitely stronger than my father, I can tell that much already. Which means that some random tribe folk at the base of a tower are all stronger than the world champ. There is definitely something wrong with that.'

Videl shoved her thoughts aside in favour of assaulting Upa once more, only this time he was ready for her. She went with the same tactic as before, aiming for his right side. Only this time Upa did block, using his right arm before swinging with his left elbow, aiming for her head. Videl was ust about able to dodge by jumping backwards, but Upa caught her mid-air with a powerful kick that sent her sprawling to the floor.

Videl pushed herself up, cringing slightly at the new found pain in her side. She fixed a glare on Upa, who merely returned it with a smile.

"Wait. Right. There," she told him, before heading of behind the tent. She re-emerged moments later, and flung some clothes to the floor. They landed with a rather heavy thump, which immediately drew Upa's attention.

"You were wearing waited clothing," he said with some surprise. "You were already faster than me. I have to say this is impressive."

Videl nearly grinned before cracking her knuckles.

"Okay, round two," she declared.

Upa barely had time to blink.

Videl returned to the camp rather satisfied. That had been her first victory in ages. Once she'd removed the weights from her wrists she was able to deliver a much more powerful blow than before, and with the lack of weights in general Upa had been hard pressed to hit her at all. He had managed it though, the evidence being a bruise on her cheek and several sore spots on her arms and back.

Upa had not proven to be an easy opponent. He took a lot of beating to knock him down even once. It had taken her near twenty minutes to convince him to give up. Apparently he had the pride of a true warrior, despite having no real training in martial arts. He relied purely on strength and instinct, which had been more than enough to cause Videl trouble.

She bid the slightly limping Upa a good night before ducking into her tent, now sufficiently tuckered out and ready for bed.

"That wasn't a good idea."

Videl froze. There was Gohan, sitting up and staring at her with his arms crossed and his right brow raised.

"Erm, what do you mean?" asked Videl, suddenly feeling like she'd just been caught doing something she wasn't supposed to do.

"You're going to need to be in top shape tomorrow. You're going to have a harder time if you're all banged up."

Videl blinked a few times before realising that Gohan was right. She was climbing the largest object on earth tomorrow, and she was now going to have to do it with battered ribs.

"I'll manage," she said, before crawling over to her bed. "Besides I didn't see you running over to stop me."

Gohan narrowed his eyes a bit.

"Once a challenge has been made it is out of my hands. Unless you're in danger of dying I have no right to intervene."

"What's that some kind of warrior's code?" asked Videl in a mocking voice, before draping the blanket over herself. "Look I'll be fine. You'll see."

Videl smirked at him before rolling over onto her side and closing her eyes.

Gohan stared at the back of her head for a minute before doing the same. After a few minutes he heard soft snores, signifying that she'd finally drifted off to sleep.

Gohan woke Videl bright and early the next morning. She woke up with a loud yawn, and a stretch of her arms before wincing at the pain in her side. Once Gohan had left the tent, she raised her T shirt to see an ugly bruise had formed on her ribs.

"Well at least they're not broken," she sighed.

She dropped the shirt and got out of bed. Quickly she found her shoes and headed outside to the sweet smell of breakfast.

As she sat down ready for her meal Videl took her first good look at Gohan. His eyes were puffed with black bags under them.

"Couldn't sleep" she asked him.

"Umm, no I was… too excited about the climb," answered Gohan hesitantly.

Somehow Videl had trouble believing his answer but decided to drop the question anyway. It wasn't exactly important. What was important was breakfast and that's exactly what Arella gave her. For a simple blend of herbs combined with Rabbit stew Videl couldn't help but notice that it smelt delicious. Mouth-watering slightly, she was given a wooden spoon and quickly began eating.

Gohan was given a somewhat larger portion, after his appetite had been noticed the night before.

"Well then young ones you should get climbing while the day is still young," said Bora, once the two teens had finished eating.

"I took the liberty of packing you two some water and food," said Arella, before handing a large bah to Gohan, who took it from her with a smile and a thank you. The bag was a leather sack which he quickly slung over his shoulder.

"You're right. Come on Videl," said Gohan. He quickly got up and headed over to the base of the tower. For a moment Videl considered not following him, since her ribs were still hurting. She wanted to convince him to wait another day at least. But if she did that, then she'd have to admit that her actions from the previous night were wrong and were affecting her after all, and if there was something she wouldn't have it was that. So with somewhat of a grunt she lifted herself to her feet and followed after Gohan. Bora, Upa and Arella followed soon afterwards.

"May your climb be swift and fruitful," said Bora, after raising a hand out and holding his palm of fingers flat.

"Thank you for everything you've done for us," said Gohan with a bow. Videl quickly followed the gesture.

"You are most welcome. And if you ever need our help in the future please, do not hesitate to ask."

"We will, thank you," said Gohan, giving the small tribe his brightest smile. "Alright Videl, let's go!"

And before she had time to protest Gohan began scrambling up the tower. By the time Videl had realised he'd gone, he was already a black dot high up in the sky.

"Wait for me!" she cried, before grabbing onto a piece of the tower and hauling herself up. Since she wasn't wearing her weighted clothing her assent up the tower was quick. Soon she could no longer make out the tribe's folk on the ground and she noticed Gohan waiting for her a short distance ahead.

'At this speed I'll be there in no time,' she thought.

Twenty two hours later Videl was panting heavily, now struggling her way up the tower. Every movement was an effort for her, and sweat was constantly pouring out from her. She felt dehydrated, but she couldn't have a drink until she reached Gohan.

Who was good five or six hundred metres further up the tower, smiling down at her. Twenty hours ago she would have made the distance in a minute, but right now the distance seemed like an impossible hurdle to her. She moved one hand in front of the other, finding whatever purchase she could in the smooth marble rock that made up the tower. The carvings provided a good grip and now and then there was a ledge, not large enough to sit on but enough to help pull herself further up the tower.

Videl felt her grip begin to loosen, but forced herself to hold on. She continued to push herself further, to climb higher and finally she reached Gohan.

"Nice job, there you go," said Gohan, handing her some water. He didn't look the least bit tired, other than the bags under his eyes from a lack of sleep.

Videl gratefully went to take the water, but as soon as she let go of the tower she felt her strength give way and she began to fall.

She quickly scrabbled for purchase, grabbing back onto the ledge that Gohan was on. She gave a sigh of relief as she redistributed her balance so she could stay put and not fall of.

She glared at Gohan, blaming him for her disability to take the water. Gohan merely chuckled down at her. He let go of the ledge and floated down until he was behind her back to back.

"Here. You can lean on me," he offered.

Videl raised an eyebrow.

"And what good's that going to do?"

Gohan gave a small chuckle, before looking out into the dark night's sky.

"Well for starters, if you keep your feet on that ledge but have something to lean back against, it means you'll have your hands free and you can drink this water," he told her, giving the bottle a rattle.

Videl gave a sigh of defeat before relenting.

"Fine," she said, and leaned back, letting Gohan's back support her. She quickly snagged the water bottle from where Gohan was hanging it over his head before guzzling it down greedily.

"You're pretty fast," he told her. "We're already almost a quarter of the way up the tower."

Videl sputtered before turning back around to face Gohan.

"We're still not even a quarter of the way," she said shocked.

"Can you see the top of the tower?" asked Gohan.

Videl looked up and noticed that no, she could not see the top of the tower. In fact the tower seemed to go on forever into the sky.

Gohan in the meantime was starting to feel a little uncomfortable. It was bad enough he had Videl leaning up against him, but now her sweat was starting to get through his own clothing.

"Look you can take a nap if you want. It'll probably help you."

Videl glanced back at him sheepishly.

"You want me to sleep on you?" she asked, a little unsure.

"Well for a lack of a better way of putting it, yeah," said Gohan.

"You know I think you need the sleep more than I do. You get a little sarcastic and a bit rude when you don't get you're beauty sleep."

Gohan was about to retort but stopped himself.

"Sorry," he said. "Your right. I'll get some sleep too."

"Wait a sec, you can't just leave me here all night," said Videl loudly. "What if I fall off?"

"Who said anything about leaving you," answered Gohan. "I'll sleep here and you can lean against me and sleep, like I originally suggested."

"Wait, you can sleep and float at the same time," asked Videl, with a little disbelief.

"Well, kinda," answered Gohan. "It's a meditation thing. But holding onto the feeling of floating as I'm falling asleep, my mind will lock onto that feeling and keep me floating even as I sleep."

"And if it doesn't work?" asked Videl.

"Then you're screwed," answered Gohan simply.

"Don't you mean, we're screwed. You'd fall too" she said.

"Nah, a fall of this height wouldn't bother me. You on the other hand…"

"Okay, okay. Tell you what. You go to sleep first. If you don't fall out of the sky and I can consider you safe to lean against I'll follow your plan. On the other hand, if you do fall out of the sky then hopefully the small bump you'll receive when you hit the floor several hundred _thousand _feet below us will wake you up and you can fly back up to try again."

"Okay," said Gohan, nodding his head and not paying any attention to her sarcasm. But once I'm asleep tie this rope around your waist and mine. Just in case you roll over in your sleep, you won't fall all the way down to the bottom."  
Videl begrudgingly took the rope since she didn't want to die, and Gohan instantly set to work on falling asleep. The complete lack of sleep from the night before would help but being in such close proximity to Videl was detrimental to his cause. After a few minutes though he gave a yawn and began to doze. Eventually Videl could hear his soft snores as he finally fell asleep. She noticed that although his head was now drooped forward, he was still there floating in the sky. She quickly tied her rope around first her own waist then his before leaning back against him and closing her own eyes.

"I hope he doesn't drop out of the sky in his sleep, because if he does he'll drag me down with him," she mumbled to herself before the exhaustion of the climb began to overtake her conscious and it faded away into blackness.

Well that's it. I hope you all look forward to the next chapter. I'll try to get it out on Sunday but no promises. Thanks for reading XD


	32. Imperfect bowl of Rice

**Okay, anyone who thought I was giving up this story, I want you to go bang your head of a wall. I said before that I'm going to finish this and I will.**

**Now as to why I've been gone for half a month, my laptop broke. I paid money to get it fixed. I can no longer afford a 3DS (sob) which I wanted purely to play Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop distance. And the worst bit is my laptop still doesn't work properly. It's only kind of fixed.**

**No since I've been gone so long I wanted to do a really long chapter. Sadly I didn't really have time, so you get a three thousand word one instead. Sorry guys. But regardless laptop fixed=me back and updating somewhat regularly. When I can at least. **

**Disclaimer: don't own dragonball Z.**

Videl squinted her eyes, being careful not to look directly up but to keep her gaze focused on the tower stone in front of her. She'd almost slept through to mid-day. If Gohan hadn't of gotten bored of simply floating there in the air and woken her up she probably would have. The sun was positioned almost directly above her, shining down into her retinas.

"Gohan, can you kindly tell the sun to fuck off please" she growled, placing her hand above her and blindly trying to find a place of purchase for her hand to fasten on to.

"Umm, no I don't think I can," he said, amusement evident in his tone.

"Why not," she moaned. "You could just fly up there and give it a good scolding."

"I really don't think it would listen," replied Gohan, causing a growl of annoyance to escape Videl's lips.

"In that case just blow it the fuck up then," she barked, as her foot slipped causing her to grab onto one piece of the tower tighter with one had whilst she scrabbled for purchase.

"Who do I look like, Piccolo?" said Gohan with a snicker.

Videl just stared at him blankly.

"Umm, its an inside joke," he said with a small blush as he floated beside her.

"Explain."

Gohan scratched the back of his neck and grinned at her sheepishly.

"It's kind of a long story," he answered, hoping it would be enough to deter her away from the subject.

"Well I don't know if you noticed Gohan, but it's a long fucking climb as well," she snarled, continuing to make her way up the tower at a steady pace.

Gohan noticed her increased use of profanities and that she was getting pretty pissed off, although if it was by the tower or him, he couldn't tell. Probably a bit of both.

"Well… basically… Piccolo blew up the moon."

Videl faltered for a second, her eyes widening slightly.

"Well I always wondered where it went when I was a kid," she said after a few seconds. "Well, go on."

"Err..," answered Gohan, not really knowing what she meant.

"The story, get on with the story," Videl egged, heaving herself a few more feet up the tower as she did so.

"Umm, well that's kind of it," said Gohan. He didn't really want to tell her why he Piccolo blew up the moon. He didn't have too many qualms about telling her he was half alien, his mother and Bulma had already proven that women can look past such things; if they even care about it at all. But telling her that he turned into a giant havoc wreaking monkey at the sight of the full moon, that was pushing it a bit.

"What do you mean that's kind of it," Said Videl in a slightly elevated tone. "You said it was a long story."

"Well… there were lots of reasons and stuff going on that I… don't fully feel comfortable with telling you yet," Gohan replied honestly.

"Why, don't you trust me?" asked Videl with a snarl. "You really don't think too much of me do you, I mean you won't even tell me about your past and stuff. Am I that much of a disappointment to you, just because I can't even beat a fucking tower?!"

Gohan frowned.

"Videl I understand you're getting frustrated, but you need to calm down. Getting angry and yelling at me isn't going to help."

Videl snarled, but immediately after that she softened. She paused momentarily and took a few deep calming breaths.

"You're right, sorry."

Gohan threw her a big heart-warming smile, causing her to blush and look away from him.

"Ah, the great Videl Satan apologizing. I don't think I'll ever get used to it. You know a few months ago I swear that you'd probably never apologized to anyone in your life."

Of course this made Videl angry at him again. Not that there was much she could do about it. So she just glared at him and tried to make her way up the tower a bit faster to try and get away from him. Of course that was never going to working, since he just sped up slightly so that he stayed floating beside her.

"You're a real ass sometimes, you know that," she growled at him angrily. "I swear to god I am _never_ apologising to the likes of you again."

Gohan just chuckled.

Videl turned back to the tower, mumbling to herself.

The two continued on their way up the tower, stopping only to eat from the food that Arella had given to them. Gohan had shown her his ability to eat human sized portions during this time in order to conserve their food. Soon the second day of climbing had ended and Gohan was soon asleep in mid-air, with Videl leaning into his back.

It was cold up in the air, and especially at night. Videl was no scientist, and at thirteen she had yet to understand why heat seemed to cling to the earth and refused to rise any higher. She knew that it was colder the higher you go, but as far as she's concerned she should be closer to the sun, so it should be hotter. Plus she distinctly remembered cold air being heavier than hot air. she'd done a volcano test in a fish tank in primary school. She had no idea why cold air was heavier either, but really it should be the cold air staying below, not the hot air. Gohan probably knew.

As far as attempts at trying to distract yourself from the cold goes, Videl soon realised pondering why it was so cold was probably not the best way.

Videl shivered and wrapped her arms tightly around her ribs. She winced, having forgotten about her bruised ribs. They'd been hell while climbing. She'd hoped they'd be better by now. Hell, her arms had almost fully healed in the space of a week. But then she'd had help with that. Gohan had done something. Maybe she should ask for his help again.

But if she did that, wouldn't Gohan have to put his hand on her ribs? Rub his hands gently over the bruise just like he'd done her arm? And what if it required direct contact to work, and she had to lift her shirt…

Almost like a second sun, Videl's face lit up, and she could swear the carvings on the tower became clearer under the glow of her face.

Videl tried to snuggle further into Gohan's back, the only source of warmth she could find, but soon found her efforts were in vain. Gohan back was straight and pressing her own flat back against it was not going to help. The only way she was going to get more warmth from him was if she turned around and clung to him, wrapping her arms and legs around her. Or alternatively, if she woke him to and forced him to hug her for the rest of the night. She glanced behind her at the sleeping boy, her face still a deep shade of red.

Gohan didn't seem bothered at all by the cold. But then he probably knew a way to warm himself up with his ki.

And the bastard hadn't bothered to teach her…

Videl found herself growing angry again with the thought. How could Gohan condemn her to suffer like this?

Maybe she should wake him up. And if he refused to teach her how to warm herself up, she'd make him warm her up!

The blush quickly returned to her face and her anger beat a hasty retreat.

"I'll ask him tomorrow," she said to herself, trying to hide away her blushing face, even though there was no one around or awake to see it.

* * *

Gohan smiled contently as he watched Videl make her way up the tower. She didn't realise it but she'd climbed a much greater distance on the second day than she did on the first. And she had no doubt that she'd climb even higher today than she did yesterday.

Of course one night of rest wasn't going to fully restore her. He had no doubt at all her limbs were probably aching something dreadful, and it was probably only sheer stubbornness that prevented her from commenting or indeed complaining about it. He also noticed how she winced slightly every time she pulled herself up with her left arm. Her ribs probably hurt like hell, but then it was her own fault. He could of course speed up her recovery but then he'd have to touch her…

Gohan quickly shook his head to clear it of impure thoughts. He'd never had them before, and even now he still didn't understand what they were, but he did know that the thought of touching Videl was one he found very pleasing, and in a _completely _different way to how badly he wanted to hold his little brother when he'd been born. He didn't understand the urge or compulsion he had to hold her. Maybe he really did like her just as everyone had been saying and these feelings were the result of an attraction he felt towards her.

Or more likely maybe it was puberty.

Krillin said that once you hit puberty, your body starts changing and so does the way you think. At first Gohan had thought he was talking about something like the super saiyan transformation for humans, but after reading more in deftly about it he quickly surmised that he's been wrong.

Puberty was nothing like the super Saiyan transformation.

His next thoughts had been that he wasn't human so maybe it was different for him. He'd quickly decided to ask Vegeta about it, but to his relief the man had responded, seriously and without insult for once, that there were very few differences between Saiyan and Human puberty. Apparently the main differences only occurred in female Saiyan's, and their new found urge to beat the shit out of everything that moved for no solid reason. Vegeta had also explained this was completely different from a Saiyan urge to fight, and was more akin to constant temper tantrums. He'd also shuddered a little, as if reliving a particularly nasty memory.

Krillin had then walked in and commented it didn't sound that different to human female puberty. Vegeta's response was to ask for the annual casualty ratings.

Seemingly lost in his thoughts about puberty, Gohan floated up the tower behind Videl and failed to notice when she stopped. Videl turned her head and opened her mouth ready to talk but all that escaped her was a small eep as Gohan's head connected with her backside. Still though he failed to notice that she'd stopped and continued rising. Videl was shocked into silence as she suddenly found herself ascending up the tower, still sitting on the head of her floating friend.

"Gohan," she called out with a little bit of panic in her voice, but she garnered no response.

"Gohan!" she called again, and this time he jerked to a halt causing her to lose her balance from her perch and fall forwards, hitting her head of the tower. Her hands and feet quickly re-found their purchase as she stifled the groan of pain that had been working its way out her lips.

"Jeez, what the hell is the matter with you?!" she called back to him, her face red and a mark on her head from where she hit it.

Gohan was also blushing, having broken out of his stupor and realised both what he'd done and where his head had been.

"Urm, sorry I completely zoned out," he answered quickly with a frantic wave of his hands.

Videl glared at him but didn't say anything else. Instead she turned back to the tower and resumed climbing; leaving Gohan to let out a heavy breath he hadn't even known he'd been holding.

But a mere few hours later Gohan was given a quick surprise when a body suddenly dropped onto his face. He was knocked down a few yards but quickly righted himself. He looked down at the body he held in his arms, staring into half lidded blue eyes.

"It looks like you finally broke," he told her with a small smile. "You did good. You've made it over two thirds of the way up the tower, you know. I think you'll find after a good rest that you'll be much stronger."

Videl didn't reply, merely placing a hand over her injured rib. Gohan instantly got the message. It hadn't been exhaustion that had bested her, although that had played a major part of it, it had been pain.

"Told you that fight was a bad idea," he sighed.

"S-shut up," she managed to wheeze out. Gohan observed her. The loose fitting brown jacket she'd worn to protect her from the cold was open revealing her white shirt underneath. Usually it seemed loose fitting and a bit too large for her but now it was plaster in sweat and hugged to her frame. She'd worn black track bottoms for easy movement but she'd somehow managed to rip them in several places. Her hair which she'd done into a pony tail was just as beaded with sweat as her forehead. As he took in her exhausted state Gohan felt his urges to hold her tightly return to him, causing a blush to creep into his face. He soon found these urges rewarded though when he felt Videl snuggle further into his chest. He realised that she'd fallen asleep. Not that he minded.

Feeling oddly satisfied Gohan ascended swiftly to the top of the tower, soon landing to be greeted by an amusing sight.

Korin, the chubby feline guardian of the tower was growling at Yajirobe.

"You will stay away from my stick of beans this time, do you understand Yajirobe," the normally docile cat growled. Across from his sat a rather large man, at least in girth anyway, who seemed to be doing his best to ignore the cat. He picked his nose, much to Gohan's disgust, pulling out a nice large bugger, before rolling it in his fingers and then flicking it over the railing, where it would no doubt pick up speed and deal actual damage to some poor unsuspecting creature below.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll stay away from the beans. But I wouldn't eat so much if you actually provided a decent meal for once," the man said, not once turning to look at the cat.

Korin growled softly under his breath, before finally noticing Gohan, who'd been watching the two.

"Wasn't expecting you for another day," the cat told him, his anger having apparently dissipated as he approached the teen Saiyan. "Well I can guess what happened just by looking. I won't train her you know, since she wasn't able to climb the tower."

Gohan shook his head with a smirk on his face.

"I'd never planned for you to do that anyway. Dad might have done it in a few days but Master Roshi took years. Besides I'm already doing a similar sort of training with her so it's not needed anyway."

Korin just shook his head in understanding.

"I see. You just want to let her rest here then. Well I suppose I can allow that. Come with me Kid, I'll show you where the beds are."

Korin began walking away to the stairs, followed swiftly by Gohan. He led her to a single bed that was within the tower.

"Just set her down here," said the old cat, pointing to the bed with his staff. "She should wake up in a day or two."

Gohan frowned, but did as he was told.

"Was she pushing herself that hard?" he asked. Truthfully he did not know.

"There's a reason why kids aren't teachers. Not that you're not doing a good job, but your experience itself is limited. It's not just the tower, this girls been in a constant state of exhaustion for days, weeks even. She should have gotten some more rest before attempting to climb the tower. But instead she has to train and fight."

"You were watching all that?" asked Gohan with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes I was. And as her teacher it's now your responsibility to regulate her health. You should have forbidden her from training for at least a day or two before she tried climbing the tower and you should never have allowed her to fight Upa."

Gohan was silent as Korin spoke and for a little while afterwards.

"I don't think she'd appreciate it if I tried to control her actions like that," he answered. But Korin merely snorted.

"Of course she won't, but then kids don't thank their teachers for setting them tasks and giving them homework. And you're her teacher. Some of the things you have to say she might not like but she had to listen. Just take my advice kid. You'll both be better off."

And with that Korin walked calmly out of the room, leaving Gohan to stare down at the sleeping girl. He knelt down so that he was on a closer level with her and he could examine her facial features more clearly.

"I'm sorry Videl," he whispered. "I'm still inexperienced. I knew that in the run of things I'd make just as many mistakes training you as you would make mistakes in training. But even so, you persevered and you made it _very_ far up the tower. If you hadn't hurt your ribs, and you'd gotten your proper amount of rest, you might have even reached the top. But even so, I'm proud of you. You tried so hard Videl."

He smiled at her. For all the pain she'd suffered in the past month she looked so peaceful as she slept now.

"I wonder how strong you'll be when you wake up. Just climbing the tower, even part way is a major boost, you know."

And then, so naturally he was hardly aware he was doing it, Gohan leaned over and planted a shallow kiss on her forehead.

"Good night Videl," he said with a small smile, before turning on his heel and exiting the room.

…

"Php, like I'd seriously take two days to recover, idiot. That cat didn't know what he was talking about."

**Yes, Videl had already woken up. Next chapters got some more exciting stuff happening, so look forward to that one. Oh and by the way I do know why it's colder the higher up you go. But my fourteen year old brother didn't, so there for neither does Videl.**

**Well now I have an important question. is there ant body here who thinks they can do a better image cover than the one I have. See usually I'm good at drawing but for some reason I just can't draw Gohan. But then I thought hang on a sec, the fics got a lot of fans (At least I think it does), I bet one of them could do an awesome cover. So if anyone would like to have a crack at it I'd really appreciate it. K, thanks.**


	33. Stupid old Rice

**HI GUYS. It's me again. Been a while. A few months at least. How you all been? Me I've been great. Well there were a few setbacks, but with any luck I should still have a house on Christmas. But we're not here to talk about that. We're here to talk about… something else. Let's see. Erm one of you guys said I should have made Videl more interested in Gohan's secret's, and not doing so made her out of character. Personally I disagree. I've only ever seen her interested in Gohan's secrets as a whole in fanfiction. In the anime she was just suspicious of Gohan and wanted to prove he was the Great Saiyaman. In the manga there wasn't even that. In this fic there is no great Saiyaman and no Gold fighter. No reason for her to be suspicious until later. Or specifically this chapter. Well no more talking. ONWARDS!**

**Disclaimer: I literally own this computer, eight T-shirts, three pairs of Jeans and Halo-4. That's about it. **

Truth stood in the middle of the empty room, surrounded on all sides by the members of Clarity. They stood encircling him, partially hidden in the shadows. His son Zack was also there, standing off to the side, outside of the loop. The members of Clarity had only been made aware of him during the Christmas broadcast. Truth had explained the dangers of them being there and why he had lied to them that he wasn't going to do anything. He also said that the broadcast was to be their Christmas present, had it gone the way he planned it. But alas, nothing had gone the way he planned it, and they now found themselves in a rather tricky position. Their options had been limited from the beginning. After all, it was hard to corner a being that Truth was becoming convinced had the power to wipe a city of the map with a mere wave of his hand. Son Gohan had shown the difference between him and them by completely shrugging of Zack's ki blast, remaining completely unharmed and even batting Truth's own larger ki blast back at him, like it was nothing more than an annoying fly.

Another major point is that Truth had once again felt Gohan's power level when he'd burst into the room. This time when he'd arrived he'd been surrounded by a golden aura, and waves of golden light had been rolling off his skin and hair. The sheer feeling of it had left truth momentarily stunned. To say Gohan's power dwarfed his own would not do the feeling justice.

But regardless of Gohan's overwhelming power, he and the members of Clarity had to find a way out of the situation they'd been landed in. For a week now they had not made a move, being forcefully repressed by Hercule's speech. Public opinion of them had been bad before, but now it was at an all-time low. They'd been accused of kidnapping a little girl, after all. And not just any little girl either. If that wasn't bad enough, Hercule had pretty much disappeared of the radar. No one knew where he was these days, although the general belief was that he was out there somewhere looking for his daughter. Truth knew this was a load of bullshit, and the man was simply hiding. This eliminated the option of kidnapping him again and torturing him for information, since they couldn't find him.

"Well my dear fellows, we've been left in a right pickle this time," Truth sighed. "We're going to need to do something soon"

"Why can't we just say we don't have her," whined Matty from somewhere to his right.

"Because Hercule told everyone that we do," said Truth with a sigh. "And the truly annoying thing is they all believe him."

"How about we do like a public demonstration and shit," suggested one member. "If people see all the lights and shit are real they won't be able to say that it's fake," he concluded happily.

"We tried that already James," Truth responded. "The sad fact is people would not believe our abilities were real, and passed us off as a magic act."

James grunted but did not otherwise reply.

"No. What we need right now is not a peaceful solution. Public proclamations will be looked upon with scepticism. No one will believe what we say now. What's more is we can no longer confront Hercule about his lies, as he has disappeared. No, my friends. I am afraid there is only one way I can see us getting out of this."

"Yeah, a public barbecue. It's brilliant!" shouted Iscariot happily. The rest of the room turned to face him.

"We know the truth of your character Iscariot," said Pete. "We know you are not stupid, so please refrain from acting like it."

"Well I don't think it's a stupid idea," muttered Iscariot.

"Indeed it is not," agreed Truth. "And where better to hold this barbecue than the source of everything. My friends, we are going to Capsule Corp."

* * *

Videl allowed her eye to crack open. She gave a groan and tried to move her body, which didn't work very well. Her arm sort of raised and then flopped down. She gave a wince at the stinging feeling in her ribs. Giving up on the rest of her body, she tried merely to raise her head. It sort of worked.

She'd woken up earlier (how much earlier she did not know) to discover a cat talking to Gohan and telling her she'd probably be out of it for two days. But she'd been so tired she didn't even bother to alert them to the fact she was awake. Once the cat left after scolding Gohan, he had knelt down beside her and told her he was proud of her. Then he'd left a kiss on her forehead and left. She'd fallen to sleep quickly after that, but now she was awake again.

Rather than continuing to try to get back up, Videl let her head rest back down again. She began to think about all the things she'd learned over the last few days.

To start things off, aliens existed. She'd met two, and now she was going to stay with them for a while. Another thing, according to Upa and his father Bora, a mythical dragon that grants wishes also exists. She'd decided almost immediately upon hearing that story that one day she was going to find all seven dragon balls and call forth the dragon. She wasn't sure what she was going to wish for, but the idea of seeing a real live dragon wasn't one she was willing to let go of. And finally there was her latest revelation. The legendary guardian of Korin's tower was in fact a talking cat.

Videl realised that she'd taken in all of these things without question. No once had she ever doubted the validity of anything. She sighed to herself, but none the less allowed a small smile to work itself onto her face.

"Videl, are you awake?"

Instead of turning her neck, Videl just tilted it slightly, opting to look out of the corner of her eye to see who had spoken instead. Gohan stood at the entrance to the room, looking slightly wide eyed. After a second, a large grin took up his face, and he walked over to her bedside, before plopping down cross legged on the floor.

"How you doing?" he asked.

Confronted with his face, Videl couldn't help but think of the last time he'd spoken to her, just after Korin had left. This caused her cheeks to turn a bit red.

"Been better," she croaked.

Gohan's grin dropped a bit, but not too much.

"Korin said it'd be the better part of two days before you woke up. It's still only been nine hours since you passed out though. Why don't you sleep a bit more," he suggested.

Videl was seriously considering Gohan's suggestion, but after twenty seconds of silence gave a grumble.

"Nah, I'm fine. Just need to stretch my limbs at all."

As if to prove her point Videl thrust her arms into the air, interlocking her fingers as if stretching them. There was the sound of popping and crackling as Videl cracked her fingers, causing Gohan to wince slightly.

"Guess you're a bit out of it after three days of none stop climbing," said Gohan, looking down at Videl with some worry. Her face had showed some measure of discomfort after stretching her arms. If Gohan had to guess, she must be feeling roughly three times worse than after one of their training sessions in the gravity room.

"Am noooot," Videl groaned, trying again to sit up. This time she somewhat managed it, though her spine made noises of protest, causing both teens to wince once more.

"I need a massage," Videl moaned quietly, but just loud enough for Gohan to hear.

"A massage?" he asked, letting his surprise show.

"Yeah, I used to go have a massage after training sessions. Really used to help out with sore limbs and stuff. I haven't had one in a few months though."

"Never saw you as the type," Gohan admitted, causing the girl to look at him.

"What's that supposed to mean. It's important that a martial artist keeps their body well maintained, you know," she said with a raised eyebrow.

"Erm, yeah of course. I just didn't think.. well never mind."

Videl decided not to pursue the matter, instead swinging her legs off the bed as she began preparations to stand up. Gohan, having saw what she was doing was about to protest. Before he could however, Videl quickly stood and a proud smile came onto her face. She quickly lost it though as her legs gave out and Gohan had to catch her, placing an arm around her waist.

"Woah, steady there Videl. You've spent three days climbing vertically up a tower. Your suffering from a pretty good case of exhaustion so you really shouldn't be walking."

Videl just grunted, placing one hand on the arm around her waist then another on Gohan's shoulder. Using him as leverage she managed to pull herself back up into a standing position.

"Okay, so then, where are we?" Videl asked, wobbling slightly but otherwise remaining on her feet.

"Oh we're at the top of the tower now," said Gohan with a small smile. He sat down on the bed, forcing Videl, who'd been clutching his clothes in order to stand up, to sit down with him. "I carried you up here after you passed out."

Videl nodded slightly, a bit annoyed with herself that she had been able to climb the tower.

"And who's Korin? You mentioned him before," she asked. She didn't want to reveal she knew that Korin was a talking cat, because that would mean revealing she'd been awake when they carried her into the room.

"He's the guardian of the tower," said Gohan. "He's really wise and stuff but he can be a little bit weird sometimes. Umm, he's also a cat."

"He's a cat?" asked Videl, purposely sounding disbelieving. Guess her father's acting skills must have rubbed off on her.

Gohan nodded his head.

"Yeah, I know it's hard to believe but he's really a talking, slightly overweight cat."

Gohan looked at her, the strength of his gaze showing his complete honesty and willing her to believe him.

Of course Videl already knew Korin was a chubby talking cat and had no problem believing him.

"It's not that hard to believe Gohan," she said, waving her hand in dismissal. "Think about it. Since I met you, I met a floating cat, a talking turtle and a transforming pig. Plus the worlds ruled by what is essentially a talking dog."

Gohan blinked a few times.

"It is?"

This time Videl's eyes really did widen in disbelief.

"You mean you don't know about King Furry?"

"King who?"

Videl gave a small sigh before launching into discussion, telling Gohan all about the worlds ruler.

* * *

Some hours later, Videl finally found herself able to stand unaided, and with the help of Gohan proceeded up the stairs to the open part of the tower. The air, she noticed, was quite thin, which probably had more to do with her inability to stand than her lack of energy. But other than that she seemed to of acclimatised quite well.

"Ah, you're awake," came an age old voice.

Standing by the railing was Korin, staring at the two teens who had managed to get up the stairs. The white cat (Did you know Korin was supposed to be blue?) stood before the two, trusty staff at his side.

"You should be resting," he said. The two assumed he was talking to Videl, because he was staring in-between them. Or at least they thought he was. It was hard to tell with his eyes closed.

"Well, I was thinking of just getting her to Dende," said Gohan. "He should be able to fix her up."

Korin nodded his head.

"Well go on then, I won't keep you."

This time Gohan nodded his head before wrapping an arm around Videl's waist.

"Hey, what are you doing," Videl squeaked, as Gohan pulled her towards him.

"We have to go a bit higher, and you're in no condition to fly there yourself," he told her with a small frown.

"O-oh," said Videl, trying to hide the blush that was appearing on her face. She turned back to Korin then and said, "Thanks for letting me stay a bit."

"You're welcome," said the cat before turning on a furry heel and walking off from the two. Moments later, Gohan flew off from the tower, heading further up to the Lookout.

Korin continued walking until he found Yajirobe exactly where he promised not to be. Pilfering Korin's newly grown senzu beans.

The cat gave a sigh before whacking Yajirobe on the back of his head with the staff.

"Oww," the large man cried, tumbling backwards onto the floor and spilling some beans.

"What was that for?" Yajirobe whined, picking up a bean of the floor and plopping it into his mouth.

"For eating my beans when you said you wouldn't."

Yajirobe's reply was to quickly consume another bean.

"I think you're losing your touch old cat. You said that girl would be out for two days."

Korin growled.

"I am not losing my touch. An ordinary human would be out two days. But that girl was practically bathing in Gohan's energy when she got here. Hell, she was actually awake when we put her in bed."

Yajirobe quirked an eyebrow.

"She was? Then why'd you tell Gohan she was out?"

Korin huffed and turned around, facing the clouds beyond the railing. From nowhere he pulled a pipe and gave it a puff, allowing a ring of smoke to billow out and float upwards.

"It's been over four hundred years since I tried playing matchmaker. I really was expecting Gohan to say more to her when he thought she wasn't listening."

The cat gave a small chuckle, which was promptly ignored by Yajirobe, who continued downing more beans.

* * *

Gohan landed lightly on the Lookout, releasing Videl, who immediately pushed away from him and tried standing on her own. She was still a bit wobbly, but she managed it.

"Gohan, how nice to see you!"

Videl looked up and saw Dende, the green alien she'd met at the Christmas party approaching them. He was wearing white and blue robes and was clutching a staff much like Korin's. On his right or their left was a short but wide man with huge lips and a turban and skin darker than the darkest of nights. On Dende's other side was Piccolo, still wearing his Turban and cape. Videl had a sneaking suspicion that he never wore anything else.

"Hey Dende. Hi Piccolo, hi Mr. Popo," Gohan replied enthusiastically as he saw the three approaching.

"Gohan, it has been far too long," said the man who Videl guessed must be Mr. Popo. His voice was rather controlled but at the same time free. Like his voice and mind had been honed by centuries of wisdom. Which Videl decided, it probably had.

"And Videl too," said Dende cheerily. "We met at the Christmas party, do you remember?"

"Umm, yeah I remember," said Videl. After all it's not every day you forget meeting an alien. Especially when it's only been a week or so at most since you met them.

"Hey Dende, do you think you can heal Videl. She's having a little trouble standing.

"Of course I can," Dende said with a smile. Before Videl could question what he was doing, Dende held his palms out and yellow waves seemed to radiate from them. They rolled over Videl's skin and clothes giving her a warm tingling feeling. All the pain in her ribs, arms and legs seem to lessen more and more until eventually she couldn't feel any pain at all.

"There, you should be fine now," said Dende, dropping his palms.

Videl noticed she was no longer having any trouble standing.

"So then Gohan, may I ask what brings you here?" said Dende, turning to his friend and smiling.

"Well, We're kind of waiting out Clarity, and in the mean time I thought I should put Videl through her paces. I realised she doesn't actually have much battle experience with strong opponents so I thought we could use the Time Pendulum room."

Dende's smile turned slightly devious, something that did not go unnoticed by Videl.

"Very well then. I believe I have the perfect opponent for her as well."

Gohan didn't say anything, merely cocking his head to the side in confusion and smiling back.

"Well okay then. I suppose if you know a good opponent for her, we'll go with that."

Dende grinned back before turning around and trusting the hand with the staff out in front of him.

"Well what we are waiting for, let's go!" he cheered, before marching of like a general, leaving the others to follow after him.

"Umm, Gohan, where are we going?" asked Videl, tugging on Gohan's sleeve.

"To the Pendulum room," answered Gohan. "Basically, your conscious can be sent back in time so you can fight strong warriors from the past. They can be from pretty much anywhere, but since Dende's got someone in mind we'll go with whoever that is. It's probably better than the opponent I'd thought up anyway."

Videl nodded.

"That actually sounds really cool," she said, excitement evident in her voice.

"Yeah, you can get a lot stronger this way too. My Dad did it when he was a little kid. He learned a lot," answered Gohan.

Videl smiled up at him and walked the rest of the journey in silence.

Eventually the group reached a dark room with a large pendulum hanging down. In the middle of the room was a glowing purple circle.

"Okay then, Videl. Do you think you can stand in the middle of the circle?" asked Dende, giving her his best smile.

Videl nodded, quickly making her way over to the circle before turning back to face them.

"Now what," she said, her voice eager with anticipation.

"Close your eyes," said Dende teasingly.

Videl did as he said.

"Okay, now what?" she asked.

There was no answer.

"I said now what!" she growled louder.

Still no answer.

"Guys are you still there?" she asked, her eyes still closed.

"Who are you talking to?"

Videl's eyes shot open quickly at the sound of the unfamiliar voice. Looking around quickly she didn't see anyone. But she wasn't in the pendulum room either. Rather she was standing in the middle of a forest. Now that she was paying attention she could hear the birds singing.

"Erm, excuse me," said the voice again, from somewhere just below her.

Videl looked down and noticed for the first time where the voice had been coming from. A small boy stood in front of her, a faded blue gi hanging off his frame and a small orange stick in his hand.

"Who were you talking to?" the boy said again.

"Urm, no one," said Videl, a bit embarrassed, having noticed that none of the others were anywhere in sight.

'Guess I went back in time, then,' she thought to herself somewhat happily.

"I don't see anyone here though," said the boy. "I think No-one must have gone home."

Videl's eye twitched a bit in irritation.

"No. I mean I wasn't talking to anyone," said Videl, giving the boy an annoyed look.

"Oh, so you were talking to yourself," said the boy as if he'd just made the greatest discovery in the history of mankind.

"Yes," said Videl in irritation. "I mean no, I wasn't talking to myself, I was talking to… the birds."

"You were talking to the birds," said the boy, eyes wide in wonder. "Wow! If you can talk to birds, you must be really smart!"

"Urm," said Videl, not really sure how to answer. The boy seemed to stare back at her for a while.

"You know you're a really pretty boy," he said after a while, as if this fact confused him.

A tick of irritation appeared on Videl's forehead.

"I'm a girl you idiot," she yelled, bringing a fist down on the boys head, causing him to tumble to the ground.

The boy didn't last long on the ground though, instantly standing back up again with a grin on his face.

"Wow so you're a girl, I've never seen one," said the boy, now circling her. "Umm, you don't seem very different though."

"Are you stupid or something," said Videl with a frown, as the boy stopped in front of her again.

"What, my name's not stupid," said the boy defiantly, beating a hand of his chest. "My name's Goku."

Videl's jaw promptly dropped.

'This is Gohan's dad!' she realised. 'And he's a complete Idiot.'

"Hey, what's your name?" asked Goku, looking up at her with an inquisitive smile on his face.

"Videl," she answered hurriedly, still trying to get around the fact that she was talking to Gohan's dead father as a child.

'This is weird,' she thought to herself.

"Hey ,do you want to come to my house?" asked Goku excitedly. "It's just up the hill. You could meet my Grandpa!"

Videl smiled at the boy's enthusiasm.

"Do you always ask people you've just met if they want to come to your house?" she asked sweetly.

"Dunno, never met anyone before," the boy said excitedly. "Well other than my grandpa."

Videl tried not to stop smiling.

"Well then sure, I'd love to come to your house," she said.

"Great," the boy said, before turning around. "Come on, it's this way."

And as the boy began to run off Videl noticed for the first time the tail that was waving around behind him. Her eyes widened with the realization that the tail was very real.

"Gohan, when I get back you've got some explaining to do," she whispered quietly to herself, before hurrying after the boy.

**So what did you all think? I know after so long you were probably expecting something a bit longer, but sadly I never was a hard worker. On the other hand much more free time now, so you should be seeing some updates quickly over the coming weeks. Also last chapter, since I waited a few months reached 109 reviews. Yup I counted. I think that's the new record. Anyway, see you guys soon. If lots of you review, see you even sooner. **


	34. The Original Bowl of Rice

**Another chapter, woot.**

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**Yeah, don't usually do something like this. So I have done a one shot called DBZ: the Breaker, because I couldn't think of a better name. I thought I'd mention it here, mainly so some people who read through this fic, will see this message and maybe they'll fancy reading it. Basically if any of you guys want to read about Hercule getting a little come-uppance, you should enjoy it.**

**Well not much else I want to say except thank you for all your reviews. Even though I don't reply to everyone I do read every single one and try to reply to a good few at least. If I don't it's because I can't think of anything to say. **

**Oh, and here's a message from Silver-chan**

_I'm sorry this chapter was delayed. I have had a hard time getting to a computer because my house flooded and I lost 90% of my stuff, but I am happy for this to be back and I miss you all so much! Enjoy the chapter!_

**Poor Silver-chan, losing her stuff DX. So I'm counting on you guys giving lots of reviews and well wishes to cheer her up, k.**

**Disclaimer, don't own DBZ DX**

Goku led Videl through the forest at a fast pace, meaning she had to move quite quickly to keep up, although it soon became apparent that she was the faster of the two. She wasn't wearing her weights right now after all. Goku seemed quite happy with the situation though and was laughing as he ran, dodging around trees and jumping over bushes and occasionally veering left and right. In fact, Videl was beginning to doubt Goku actually knew where he was going. The boy seemed quite happy to run anywhere, and pointed out various animals as they passed them. He pointed to a small family of monkeys, who oddly enough seemed to wave at him, and he pointed to what was unmistakably a saber-toothed tiger who managed to adopt a look of pure fear when it saw Goku and bolted in the opposite direction. Eventually, despite Videl's fears, Goku led her to a small clearing in the forest where she noticed a small house. Well maybe small house was the wrong word. More like a small shed with a red roof. It looked like a very nice shed though. An old man with a funny cap and yellow robes and a white moustache was sitting next to a large pile of chopped wood just outside the house/shed, smoking a pipe.

"GRANDPA!" Goku shouted excitedly, before running right up to the old man. As soon as he was in front of him, Goku began bouncing up and down on the soles of his feet.

"Look Grandpa, look! I found a girl!"

The old man slowly removed the pipe from his lips before placing a hand on top of Goku's hair and ruffling it.

"Is that so," he said in amusement, a kind and happy look etched seemingly permanently onto his face. Then he looked over at Videl as if noticing her for the first time.

"Yes indeed it seems you have."

The old man stood up, hand still on Goku's head, who seemed to have stopped jumping up and down the moment the old man had ruffled his hair.

The old man steadily approached her, and Videl seemed to tense as he did so.

"Hello there," said the old man cheerily. "My name is Gohan. And this here is my grandson Goku."

Videl gave a start at the old man's name. 'He's got the same name as Gohan. He must have been named after this guy.'

Shaking herself out of her startled state, Videl managed to answer his introduction.

"My name is Videl," she said, and after a moment's thought gave a small bow which caused the old man to chuckle good naturedly.

"I see. You seem quite strong," he told her, shocking her once more.

"How do you know that?" she asked in slight awe.

The man gave another chuckle before answering, ruffling Goku's hair again as well. She noticed that Goku had been getting excited again but calmed down the second Gohan performed this action.

"It's not hard for a martial artist to recognize another, especially when you've been around as long as I have," Old Gohan said. "May I ask why you came here?"

Videl was a little stumped by that question. She'd come here to spar with someone strong. Maybe she'd been sent to train with this Gohan.

"Training," she said, happy with her answer. "I want to get stronger, and when I asked someone they pointed me in this direction."

"I see," said Gohan, although there was a small look of confusion. No one should actually know he was here after all. "Would you like to spar with Goku? He is strong for a child his age."

Videl felt a little deflated. She had no doubt Gohan's father was an incredible martial artist, when he grows up. But right now, she could tell he was weaker than she is currently. She'd been hoping to fight the older Gohan.

"Well I guess I could," she said. "Although I was hoping for a training session with you."

The old man gave another chuckle.

"You'd be wise not to underestimate my grandson. He may be slightly weaker than you right now, but I think you'll find him a good opponent."

"Yeah!" spoke up Goku enthusiastically. "I'm really tough!"

He flexed his arm proudly, showing his muscle.

"Well okay then," said Videl relenting, and smiling at Goku's childishness. Hey, he was a cute kid.

"But first, I must insist you join us for dinner!" the old man cried, turning his back on her and walking back to the house. "Yes, Goku caught for us a splendid meal and it should be ready by now."

* * *

Dinner turned out to be three fish, each of them twice her size on spit roasts. Videl remember hearing about Goku's legendary appetite, something about eating fifty odd main courses. Considering he put away two of the three fish all by himself, even though they were several times his size, Videl decided she believed these rumours. The boy lay back and patted his stomach fondly. Videl ate very little. She'd never been fond of eating before a fight, it was a bad idea. But then Gohan had never seemed bothered by it, so somehow she doubted Goku would be either.

"Well then, that was a lovely meal," said Old Gohan before standing up. "Yes, I believe we should let the food rest for ten minutes and then you two can have a nice spar. Videl is there something you would like to ask?"

There was something Videl had wanted to ask. She found herself staring at Goku's tail for much of the dinner. It was quite clearly real, judging by the way it swished happily back and forth and also by the fact that Goku seemed to use it as a third hand, holding a third but of fish in it as he ate fish out of the other two hands. He'd also yelped loudly when he's accidently bit it while trying to eat the fish he was holding into it, leading Videl to believe it was not only real but most likely a very sensitive appendage.

"Yeah, why does Goku have a tail," she asked bluntly.

The old man blinked a few times before giving another one of his chuckles.

"Why indeed," he said with a smile. "To be honest I really have no idea. I found him abandoned as a baby. Perhaps his tail is the reason for his abandonment. Regardless he is such a kind child, and it has most certainly brought me a lot of happiness to watch him grow."

Videl nodded her head at the old man's words. There were some truly horrible people out there who would abandon their child just because they're a little different. But thinking about it, if they didn't do that, then Goku would never have become a famous martial artist, he never would have married Chi-Chi and she never would have met Gohan. Speaking of…

"I wonder if he has a tail," she wondered absent-mindedly. Maybe he hid it in his clothes or something. He was always wearing baggy stuff so he could if he wanted to.

Gohan seemed to hear what she said but didn't really answer on it. For one thing, he had no idea who 'he' was or why he'd have a tale.

"Well I think that should about do it. Would you two like to start now?"

"Yeah!" shouted Goku happily before bolting around to the front of the house. Videl also got up and followed him round. She found Goku running around outside the house, and Gohan arrived shortly after.

"Very well. Videl if you'll take your place we can begin."

Videl nodded and stood opposite Goku, who had stopped running around. He did a short bow the took a stance. Unlike Gohan's, his still needed some work, but there were still very few openings, and it was still probably better than anything her father could pull off.

Following suit, Videl bowed and then got in her own stance, which to be fair, wasn't all that much better than Goku's, but by ordinary martial artist standards was still pretty good.

"And begin," said Gohan.

Goku instantly shot forwards, and Videl found his fist on a collision course with her face. She moved her head to the side, slightly surprised by the suddenness of the attack. But Goku didn't stop there. He spun in mid-air and tried to perform a drop kick. Videl moved backwards to avoid it and then followed up, trying to drive a knee into Goku's stomach. Goku stopped her with the palm of his hand, now balancing upside down on her knee. The next thing she knew Goku's tail had come around and smacked her in the face, followed swiftly by another kick from Goku that sent her crashing to the ground.

'Damn punk caught me off guard,' thought Videl, glaring over to the grinning child. She'd _definitely_ underestimated Goku. He wasn't faster than her or stronger or even more advanced in technique. She didn't know what it was, but right now he had something she didn't.

'Looks like there was more to this whole thing than I first thought.'

Getting to her feet, Videl got back into her stance, and then shot forward. This time she started on the offensive. Goku was smaller than her, and definitely used his size to his advantage. He ducked under a fist and then cart-wheeled to the side when she tried to sweep him. Then he bounded forwards, aiming a punch at her stomach which she caught with her palm.

"I got you," said Videl happily, before letting go of his fist then kicking Goku away. He soon got up again with an expression of pain on his face.

"Oww, that hurt," he complained. But then he started smiling again. "You're really good."

Videl smiled back.

"Why thank you."

Then Gohan was running at her again.

"Rock!" he shouted, and went to punch her again. Once more Videl caught his tiny fist. But this time Goku followed up.

"Paper!" he cried, and drove her palm into her palm, forcing her to let go of him. Then he spun and thrust his arm out again, this time with two fingers extended, aiming straight at her eyes.

"Paper!" he shouted, and Videl barely had enough time to lean backwards, as far as her spine would allow to avoid the move that would definitely of caused her some pain.

Goku was still in the air above her, and Videl brought her right knee up, in an attempt to drive into the boy's side. Only Gohan blocked it with his arm and then pushed of, before landing to the left of her.

Videl brought herself back to standing up straight and leveled a glare at the Goku. If that last attack had of got her, it would have been beyond painful. She might have even been blinded.

"No more playing around," she said, somewhat angry that she'd been driven this far by a child. She cupped her right hand to the side and then brought out her left hand in front of her. A small pink light began to form in her right hand. Goku watched with a wide-eyed expression as she charged up the ki ball.

"Pretty," he whispered. And then Videl launched it. It moved with speed, and Goku barely had time to dodge to the side as a ball of ki the size of his head zoomed past. But he wasn't out of the woods yet. While he'd been distracted by the ball of ki, Videl had bounded forward and lashed out with a kick which sent him flying into a tree.

Goku wasn't the only one surprised by the attack. When Gohan had seen her charge the ki he'd almost dropped his pipe.

"Where did she…?" he asked quietly to himself. He was brought out of his thoughts when Videl shot forward and nailed his grandson. He thought about ending it there but then thought better of it.

'Goku could learn a thing or two from this,' he thought to himself.

Goku wasn't down long. He got up once more, much to Videl's disappointment. He was rubbing a spot on his head that he'd smacked into the tree with.

"That hurt," he whined. But then he got a confused expression on his face to. He stopped rubbing his head and held his palm out in front of him. He was just looking at it.

"What's he doing?" said Videl out loud, much to Gohan's amusement. The old man knew exactly what he was doing.

Finally the boy smiled to himself, cupped his hand next to him, and then pushed it forward. Then he repeated this. It took a few seconds before Videl realised he was copying the motions she went through to perform the ki blast.

'That means he probably has no knowledge of energy based attacks yet,' she thought to herself.

"Don't bother kid," she told him with a smile. "It takes time and practice just to learn to call on you energy, and then a lot more to give it shape. It's not something you just do."

Videl was grinning to herself confidant in her advantage over the boy, but then the boy smiled to himself.

"I think I got it," he said happily, causing Videl to give him a curious look. Then he sunk into an exact copy of Videl's stance. Left arm in front and right arm at his side.

"Hmmmmmmmmm," he grunted. Videl felt like laughing to herself. There's no way anyone could just perform a ki blast after just seeing it. But then to her amazement, she noticed a spark form in Goku's right hand. The spark soon turned into a yellow light and from there it proceeded to get bigger.

"Haaaa!" grunted Goku, thrusting his arm out, and to Videl's amazement and Gohan's delight, the small ball of ki shot out at her, causing Videl to dodge to the side to avoid it.

Then she looked back over at Goku. He was just standing there staring at his palm again. His first time using ki, and he didn't even look out of breath.

'What the hell!' she thought to herself, still stunned by what she'd just seen.

"Nope," said Goku to himself. "That wasn't quite right. Yours was bigger."

Okay really, he was Gohan's dad. Videl didn't know why she was surprised. It should have been expected. So she shook herself out of her reverie just in time to see Goku take on the stance again.

"One more time," he said out loud. Then he began to charge the Ki ball again. Much faster this time he released it. Even though he'd spent less time charging the ball was bigger and faster, but since she was ready this time Videl had an easier time dodging it. What she was not ready for was for Goku to suddenly appear in front of her, a Ki ball in his other hand. He didn't throw this one though. Instead he held it in his hand and tried to punch her with it.

Acting quickly, Videl jumped backwards out of the way. Finally feeling safe, she began to re access her options. But Goku had other ideas. He continued the punch down until the Ki ball hit the earth. Then he began to lean over the Ki ball, and instead of launching the ball, he launched himself off the ball. At a speed faster than what Videl could react to, he rocketed forwards, crashing into her and sending both of them sprawling into the ground.

Of course Goku was the first up, not looking much worse for wear other than a slightly singed hand. Videl however, remained on the ground. Goku had hit her stomach hard, winding her. She was struggling for breath so she decided to put off standing for a few more seconds. Eventually though her pride wouldn't let her stay on the ground any longer, so she slowly made her way to her feet, still panting for breath.

"Do you wish to give up," said Gohan jovially from where he was watching.

Videl shook her head, not trusting herself to talk. Now she knew what she was lacking in this fight. Goku was slower than her, weaker than her and less skilled than her. But he was excited and creative and eager to fight. Whereas she had written him off, confident of her skill and abilities being greater than his, and not really put her all in to the fight. She'd been reluctant to fight him, thinking he wouldn't be worth the time and now she was paying for it.

"I never even thought of using ki like that," she muttered to herself, once she'd gotten enough control over her breathing. Eventually she prepared her stance once more, looking at the child opposite her, who was hoping from one foot to another in anticipation, with a new found respect. Quickly she charged a Ki ball in her hand and ran forward. Once she was close and saw Goku had taken a defensive position she threw the ball at Goku's feet. Goku yelped as a big chunk of dirt was thrown up into the air, causing him to hop back and cover his face with his arms. In the meantime, Videl circled round him, and used the opportunity while he was distracted to land a round house kick to his head, sending him tumbling away. But this time Videl didn't give him a chance to recover. She immediately chased after him and tried to land a kick. A kick that Goku managed to dodge by pushing to the left with his palms and feet the second he landed. Videl pursued and Goku suddenly jumped back at him. Videl managed to block his first few blows, until Goku suddenly spun in mid-air, causing her to dock to avoid his tail.

"Rock!" Goku cried. Videl knew how this worked and instantly ducked into the blow rather than blocking.

"Scissors!" said Goku, mixing it up a bit, but Videl kept moving.

"Paper!" finished Goku, but at last Videl grabbed his tiny wrist.

Guess he's too young to understand that's not going to work twice,' she thought to herself, before burying a fist into Goku's gut, causing him to gasp out. Then she quickly swung him by the wrist and threw him to the ground a few feet away.

Videl stood there for a few minutes, catching her breath and waiting for Goku to get up. She wasn't disappointed. The boy quickly got back onto his feet, with an expression that could have been an angry look on his face. He quickly charged forwards, jumping into the air and trying a kick, which was blocked by Videl, and then switching to another tail whip. Getting used to the extra limb Videl quickly ducked this too, before delivering a counter attack which was quickly blocked by Goku's knee. As soon as he landed Goku started his own counter attack, which started with the word

"Rock!"

Videl quickly got into position to dodge around the punch to the head that always accompanies the word 'Rock'. She was caught by surprise when Goku instead slammed a palm into her stomach, causing her to haunch over.

'Clever little shit,' she hissed in her head, before catching Goku's next cry.

"Paper!"

Of course what he did instead was send two fingers darting towards her eyes. Videl managed to adjust her head just enough that the two fingers impacted just below her eyes instead, forcing her head back and causing her to hiss in pain.

"Scissors!"

This time Goku followed through with an uppercut, catching her chin and sending her careening backwards.

Lying on the ground, Videl tasted blood, which she quickly spat back out. She began to think about what she was experiencing. Goku was getting better as they fought. His techniques were becoming more unpredictable, his hits had more power and he was only slightly slower than she was now. It was amazing considering she'd gotten even stronger from her attempt to climb the tower, yet Goku was still going toe-to-toe with her. And he was at least two years younger than she was.

Videl got back to her feet, a bit wobbly now. She ran her tongue over her lips, feeling were they'd been cut by Goku's uppercut.

Keeping her eyes on her opponent, Videl charged two ki balls, pouring what remained of her energy into both. With that done, Videl ran forward. A couple of feet from Goku she hurled a ki ball to the ground at his feet. This time Goku instantly jumped backwards, ready to defend from Videl whatever direction she came from. Only this time, Videl charged straight through the cloud of dirt, closing the distance on the air born Goku with a ki ball still in hand. Goku's eyes widened as Videl planed the ball of ki into his stomach and then launched it. Goku was blasted away with the ball of ki and was sent hurling across the arena, his top being scorched to nothing but a rag on his chest.

Panting hard, Videl sank to her knees with her energy spent. Goku wasn't moving from where he laid down on the ground a good twenty feet away. She was waiting for Gohan to call the match, since it was obvious to her that Goku wouldn't be able to continue any more. Her vision was swimming, and she was contemplating passing out. But then, to her utter astonishment, there was movement.

Goku moved an arm, and then a leg. Videl's mouth was gaping open like a fish as Goku heaved himself up. He was obviously in pain, since his left eye was clenched shut and he was breathing hard. His gi top was in ruins and there was a large scorch mark on his stomach from where the ki ball had impacted. But even so he was standing. Then he did something Videl did not expecting. He grinned a large grin and held both hands out. Two balls of ki formed in his hands, just like with Videl. Only instead of rushing forward, Goku began pushing the two orbs of light together. Videl's eyes widened and Goku grit his teeth as he pushed the two orbs together, and beams of light began breaking off them, bathing the entire area in its glow. It was almost too light to look at. Slowly, Goku brought his arms to his side, both hands cupping the raw energy. And then he launched it. Not as a ki ball, but as a beam. A large golden beam with no real sense of form. It shot towards Videl, wild and fluctuating all the way.

Videl knew she had to get out the way, but right now she was too shocked to move. But in the end survival instincts trump all. Using what little strength she had left in her legs Videl threw herself to the side, landing hard on her stomach just in time to see the beam shoot past her and disintegrate a tree. There was an explosion and then a shockwave, which kicked up and covered her in dirt.

Videl could tell now that she'd lost. She didn't even have the energy to stand anymore; But Goku was still there, still in the same position, hands outstretched from when he had launched the beam of light. Videl simply lay there, waiting for the boy or his grandpa to claim victory.

A loud noise suddenly distracted Videl from her thoughts. She looked over at Goku, recognizing him as the noises origin.

The boys arms suddenly fell to his side.

"So hungry," said Goku, with a dopey look on his face. Then he fell flat on his face.

Videl just blinked a few times.

"Does that mean I win?"

* * *

Bulma scrunched her eyes up, trying to ignore whatever it was she was hearing. There was something downstairs, making a lot of noise.

"God Vegeta, keep it down. I'm trying to sleep."

A grunt came from behind her.

Bulma's eyes shot open, with the realization that her husband was sleeping beside her, meaning whatever was making that noise wasn't him. She quickly got up and slipped on a blue dressing gown before going to rouse her husband. She placed her two hands on his shoulders and began to shake him.

"Vegeta, wake up," she whispered. After a few seconds Vegeta stirred

"God woman, what is it? He groaned, placing an arm over his eyes and trying to wipe the sleep away.

"There's someone downstairs," she whispered, in a slightly fearful tone.

"So what," Vegeta muttered back. "It's probably just your parents."

But Bulma shook her head.

"They're not here, Dad had to go to a conference and mom went with him. And it's definitely not Chi-Chi."

Vegeta just groaned, before calming his mind and searching for any unfamiliar ki within Capsule Corp. grounds. To his surprise he found several. He bolted up, surprising Bulma and causing her to fall flat on her backside.

"Somebody's here," growled Vegeta with a snarl.

"Told you so."

Vegeta leveled a glare at Bulma who glared right back.

"Well, what are you waiting for," she said. "Go check it out."

Vegeta growled once more but complied with her wife's wishes. How someone could even get in here he had no idea. It was supposed to be one of the most secure places on the planet.

Pretty silently, Vegeta made his way down stairs, wondering what the best way to deal with the intruders would be. Should he detain and torture them before killing them, or should he just blast them. Maybe he could strap them to a chair in the gravity chamber, and then see how far he had to set the gravity up before they collapsed in on themselves. Or maybe he should feed them some of his wife's cooking. If that didn't kill them, it would at least leave them with terrible indigestion. This for a Saiyan was a fate worse than death. Ah choices, choices. Luckily there seemed to be a few of them so he could probably try a few things.

Breaking out of his musings, Vegeta finally reached the place he could feel all the ki originating from. The outdoor garden. Opening the door, he peered through, content to see for the moment what the intruders were up to. When he saw his jaw dropped. There in front of him were six Clarity members, including their leader Truth, all of them gathered around what looked like a barbeque. Truth immediately sensed Vegeta's presence.

"Ah there you are. We were wondering when you were going to come down," said Truth jovially.

"How the hell did you clowns get in here?" Vegeta barked, stepping fully through the door way and heading towards the clarity members.

"Through the front door," answer Truth. "Would you like a burger?"

"Yes," answered Vegeta, before he realised just who he was accepting food off of. "But not from you. I will acquire my own food later. But for now, I think I'll just kill the whole stinking lot of you."

"Ah, that's a shame. We were told that food would be a good way to stall you. No matter, we shall instead proceed with plan B."

"Plan B," Vegeta snorted. "You honestly think there's anything you fools could do that can even harm me."

"Well," said Truth, stretching out the word. "What I was thinking was, if I…"

Truth never got to finish his sentence as a figure came from nowhere and drove a knee into the back of Vegeta's neck. The blow was powerful, and well placed.

'Why didn't I sense anyone,' thought Vegeta before his face was buried into the dirt.

"Remarkable, he truly didn't sense you," muttered Truth.

Android Seventeen grinned.

"I'm partly mechanical. I don't give off an energy signature. And as long as this big lug doesn't go super I can hold my own against him, at least for a little while."

Truth nodded his head in acceptance.

"Well my friends, it's time to move out. We have free reign over Capsule Corp."

The Clarity members cheered and began to file out of the room. But before Truth could move, Seventeen grabbed his arm and squeezed, causing the masked leader to hiss out in pain.

"Remember out deal," said Seventeen, his face serious.

"Of course," said Truth, raising a hand as a show of peace. "As long as everything goes well, you will get what you want."

Apparently satisfied, seventeen let go of Truths arm, who proceeded to move a hand over the spot seventeen had just grabbed.

"I'd better," warned Seventeen, before rising into the air and out of sight.

Truth gave a sigh before turning to follow his subordinates into the realm of Capsule Corp.

**Okay, before you all kill me for Vegeta, I want to point out that A. Seventeen can knock Vegeta out with a sneak attack. Seventeen's power level is over 20 million, which isn't too much less than Vegeta's before he becomes a super saiyan in the Buu saga. And he emits no Ki signature, so he could sneak up on Vegeta. Poit B. just because Vegeta is currently unconscious, don't think he's going to be absent for the rest of Capsule Corp's occupation. **

**Well other than that I want to know if I did a good job with the Goku-Videl fight scene. It was a little hard to write in all fairness. Goku is a genius of martial arts, and tends to develop techniques on his own from seeing the techniques of other once. Well, tell me what you think. Did I do good? **


	35. The Master of cooking Rice

**Hi everyone. Really sorry that this chapter was delayed so long. There are a lot of reasons for it, honestly, and I swear this took me so long just to write about 4000 words. So even though it's been so long and I've tried I really have, I personally don't feel this chapter is up to my usual standard. But after so long you all do deserve something, so here is the next chapter. I'll probably come back and try to improve it at some point.**

**There are a few other minor things to address before I continue. Let's see I've got a list here somewhere. Okay first up, thanks a lot to everyone who reviews. Honestly without so much support this fic wouldn't even have gotten as far as it has done. I know I don't reply to alotof reviews, but if that's the case it means that I either couldn't think if anything to reply with or your a guest so i can't reply. Or you've made it so I can't reply or PM you. Second thing, this fic is now so very close to becoming the most reviewed Gohan/Videl fic of them all. Seriously it's less than a hundred reviews of Ai no Chikara: dark Passions, which was for certain a very well written and hard to beat fic. I never once imagined I could rival it with this fic but now I'm so close. So this is kind of like the last stretch. **

**The last thing I wanted to talk about it my other DBZ one shot fic, 'The Breaker'. Hopefully a good few of you have read it and know what I'm talking about. A lot of people want it to be a full blown story or at least a second chapter. One of you even said it might be as good as Broken record. But there was one reviewer who suggested leaving it as a one shot, his reason being that the first chapter apparently set the bar very high, and unless the second chapters just as good it will probably seem disappointing. To be honest I do agree with him that it is probably going to be a risk developing breaker into a full blown story. Which is why for now I'm going to simply develop a experimental second chapter, and I plan to have it finished and posted before the end of February. In the mean time I'm hoping to get Broken record back on schedule with at least two updates a week, though I won't promise anything. I do think that Breaker is possibly the most reviewed DBZ one shot out there at the moment though, since I don't remember ever seeing a one shot with more than sixty reviews in the DBZ section. Anyone who can confirm that true or false for me gets a cookie. ****A really big one.**

**Last thing, Silver Chan says a lot that she doesn't always know if I've miss-spelt something or it's just the English way of spelling it. So for now, I guess... just consider this fic multi-cultural. Well that's it, sorry for waffling on so long.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon ball Z.**

Gohan was a little concerned now. Videl had been standing stock-still for over half an hour with her body rigid under the swaying pendulum. At first her face had seemed peaceful, calm. Then after twenty minutes or so she'd began twitching. Gohan had reacted instantly, fretting that something was wrong. Mr. Popo assured him this was normal, and that anything she suffered while under the effects of the Pendulum chamber would not stay with her once her consciousness returned. Even so, Gohan couldn't help but worry more for every twitch she made. Soon though her face returned to a state of calm and ten minutes later her eyes fluttered open.

"Videl, are you okay?" Gohan immediately asked, the second she'd stepped out of the circle. He'd already began taking steps towards her in case she was having trouble standing or anything like that. He really wasn't familiar with the after effects of the Pendulum room.

"Yeah," she said quietly, but fatigue was evident in her voice and eyes, which seemed a little droopy as if she really wanted to sleep but other than that she seemed fine. "That was one hell of a fight."

Gohan breathed a sigh of relief when she confirmed she was okay before becoming immediately curious about her experience in the Pendulum room.

"Who exactly did you fight?" he asked, causing her to immediately snap out of her drowsy state and stare at him with a gaze of curiosity.

"Oh that reminds me," she said in response, not answering Gohan's question. "Were you named after your father's Grandfather by any chance?"

"Uhh yeah," said Gohan, confused as to how she could know that. Then it clicked. "Wait, did you meet Grandpa Gohan?"

Videl slowly nodded her head in confirmation.

"Yeah. Met your Dad too. He is one hell of an annoying little kid."

Gohan's eyes widened at Videl's response, somewhat unbelieving she'd actually met his father as a child.

"He was really strong though," she continued, suddenly moving her hand too her stomach and wincing as if remembering something painful.

"You fought him too!" Gohan almost yelled, causing Videl to wince at his loud voice.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's why I was sent back in time after all," she answered.

"That's right," said Dende, cheerfully interrupting. "How did you do if I may ask?"

"I won," Videl answered quickly, before adding, "Barely. Goku fainted of hunger at the end."

Dende and Gohan gave a chuckle at her news, before exchanging looks.

"That does sound like him," said Dende pleasantly.

"Yeah it does," agreed Gohan. But although his words seemed happy, there was an underlying sadness to his tone that Videl instantly picked up on. She immediately turned to face him, noticing the happy smile but she didn't let that deter her. She found what she was looking for in his eyes. They were dim, lacking their usual joy. She knew he was remembering his father. It was probably still a very sore topic for him. It probably always would be. Whether it had been months or years you never move on from a dead parent. Not really anyway. She should know.

And it was then Videl realized she'd been blessed with a very rare thing, something that Gohan would probably kill for. She'd met Son Goku, who was now dead and gone. Her eyes widened at the sudden realization, and she turned round to stare once more at the machine.

Could she use it to go see her mother? Could Gohan see his father? Almost as if reading her mind Dende softly whispered to her.

"No."

The single word broke her out of her reverie and she turned to face him. Gohan did too, confused by Dende's sudden remark.

Videl noticed he was smiling at her, but it was a sorrowful smile, shown by his eyes.

"The Pendulum room is not fit for such things Videl. You could lose your soul, and any desire to return to the present. You would waste your life away on something that is essentially nothing more than a memory."

Videl felt her heart plummet at the young guardian's words, although Gohan just looked confused. She turned and looked back to the Pendulum. She wanted so badly to see her mother again. Surely just a few minutes wouldn't hurt.

"Videl you must let it go," said Dende, more sharply than he did before. Then in a softer voice, "A few minutes could cause more damage to you than a life time of pain. Please trust me Videl. You are not the first to have these thoughts, but for those who act on them it never ends well."

Gohan still looked clueless as to what was going on, although he gathered that Videl was thinking something she shouldn't be, and Dende was trying to dissuade her.

"Come now, it is time for you to eat. You should take a short break while we come up with a new destination for you. Oh yes Miss Videl, there are many more places for you to see yet."

With that Dende turned on his heel, hit his staff of the floor once, and walked briskly out of the room.

Videl however, didn't follow. Instead, she turned once more to face the Pendulum, still wondering on the possibilities. She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she hadn't noticed that Gohan had also opted to stay in the room, silently watching her. That is until he placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"You're thinking about your mother aren't you?"

It was more a statement than a question. Gohan was clever after all. It hadn't taken him that long to figure it out. Videl only nodded.

"I've thought about it before, when I first heard of it. Using this place to visit the past. And then when Dad died it was like a whole new realm of possibilities. I could see Dad again, go back in time and meet him. But that's where I began to worry. Would he recognize me, now that I've grown up? And if he did how could I explain my age to him. It's better if he didn't recognize me, but then I don't think I'd be able to take that. And there were other fears too. He would have no memories of my visit a second time. Nor a third. Videl you could use this to go back and see your mother. But it wouldn't really be her. She wouldn't know you anymore, she wouldn't recognize you."

Although Videl had made no movement to signify she'd heard Gohan's words, she had. When he was finished, she couldn't help the wet tear that she felt running down he cheek. They were quickly followed by more.

Videl began to cry silently, making no sounds, but tears still streamed down the side of her face. Gohan kept his hand on her shoulder. A reassuring presence, and even though it was him holding onto her, Videl felt it was the other way round. She tried for a few more seconds to stay strong, trying to not give in to the pent up emotions she suddenly so desperately needed to release. But in the end, her resistance was futile. Her breath became ragged, her legs started to tremble and small sobs began to escape her lips. Before she'd realized it, Gohan had pulled her to him, enveloping her in a soft hug. She spun in his arms and hugged him back, grabbing him tightly around the middle. This wasn't the first time she'd cried as he held her. She'd never let anyone do this for her after her mother passed away. It had always been her mother who held her as she cried. But then, all of a sudden she was gone, and the sudden loneliness she'd felt had threatened to crush her. It was something she couldn't really describe, so she'd never tried. Her father hadn't had much time for her for a while. He'd leave for long periods of time. She figured now that he'd been grieving too, and had probably spent the time at a bar, drinking his sorrow away or something like that. But to the child she had been, it just left her feeling abandoned. It amazed her how quickly all this had happened. One minute they were talking about her victory, then Gohan had been saddened by the memory of his father and now here she was being comforted by him, when he was probably in just as much pain as she was. And he was right. She didn't think she could bear it if her mother didn't recognize her. She was only eight when her mother died. It had been five years now. There's no way her mother would recognize her.

Giving another soft sob, she clung closer to Gohan, grabbing fist fulls of his shirt as she willed herself to calm down. Gohan was stroking her hair now, whispering words into her ear. She couldn't properly make them out, but she still found them soothing. With a bit of strength, she pussed against his chest, causing him to loosen his grip and letting her take a step away.

"I'm sorry," she said meekly, trying her best not to start sobbing again.

"What for?" Gohan asked, with genuine curiosity. Videl just shook her head.

"For being like this. For being the one to break down and cry even though you probably want to do it as well. But you can't because you're staying strong for me."

These weren't the type of lines Gohan was used to hearing coming from Videl Satan's lips. There was no sense of pride in them or arrogance. Just sorrow and gratitude.

"It's already been five years for me," Videl continued, tightening her hold on his shirt as she did so. "But it's only been a few for you."

Surprisingly it was this that made Videl break out into sobs again, although they were lighter now.

"I'm so sorry, for being weak right now. And thank you, for being strong."

Gohan smiled down at her, a genuine smile that at any other time, had she been looking Vidle would have found somewhat radiant. Angelic even.

"Hey, what are friends for, right?"

But once again Videl shook her head.

"Not for this," she whispered gently. So gently Gohan could hardly hear her. "Definitely not for this."

The two looked at each other, really looked. They saw the pain in each other's eyes, a pain shared by both of them, and in that single moment of familiarity they began to inch together.

"Am I interrupting something?"

The voice came from the door, and the two turned to see Dende, who'd returned to see why the two weren't following. Of course he already knew why by the time he'd gotten there, but even so he'd decided not to interfere till now. Why he decided on now, even he did not know. He just had the sense that now would be the right time to do so. Now he was smiling softly at the two teens, who were blushing in realisation of what they'd been about to do. Neither of them could deny it any longer. They were definitely attracted to each other. But even so, now was not the time for such things.

"Come on you two, let's get you fed and then we can get Videl back into the past." He took a step back, opening the door way to them. Only this time he stayed there, smiling and waiting for them to follow. And after a moment they did. The two teens were blushing but Videl had stopped crying now, her mind instead occupied with thoughts of what almost just happened. They passed Dende and then he followed them down the hall to the dining room.

The two teens were silent through dinner. Neither looked at the other, although they sat side by side. Dende and Mr Popo sat opposite, both watching them but not eating anything. Dende had a glass of water, and no one had ever even seen Mr. Popo eat. Gohan ate his food much slower than usual, and didn't eat as much either. This was noticed by everyone at the table, but no one commented. Once the food was mainly gone, Dende stood up.

"Well, we'll leave the food to settle for half an hour, I think," said Dende. He slowly walked over to the door, soon followed by Mr. Popo. Videl and Gohan stayed sitting, both looking down at the table until both Dende and Mr. Popo left the room. Even then neither of them spoke, until Videl finally found the silence too uncomfortable.

"Errm, Your dad was a really funny little guy," she tried, although she immediately winced the second she mentioned his father. Gohan didn't immediately lapse into sadness though.

"What was he like," he asked instead.

"Huh?" was Videl's intelligent reply.

Gohan turned to face her, although his face immediately tinged red at the sight of hers.

"Umm, as a kid. I always wondered what he was like as a kid."

Videl gave a giggle. She'd always wondered what her own Dad was like as a kid. If he'd had that ridiculous hair doo even as a child.

"He was a bit dumb," she said honestly. "He didn't know what a girl was, and he took a lot of things out of contest. But he absolutely adored his grandpa and as a martial artist he was a genius. He didn't even know ki techniques but he was able to copy tem exactly as soon as he saw me do them. Then he came up with new ways to use ki, even making a large beam out of it. I would have lost if he didn't faint from hunger. I did learn a lot from him though."

"Sound about right," said Gohan nodding and now smiling to himself. His father had been a genius of martial arts. He may have been more powerful, but his arsenal of techniques was far smaller than his fathers. Even Cell would have lost to his father without his ability to regenerate. That Warp Kamehameha was pure genius, and far more complex to perform than anyone could really understand. Gohan had tried to learn the instant transmission technique, but without proper instruction he had only his memory of the technique to go on. His father had explained some aspects of the technique to him, but he'd never been able to fully grasp it. The level of concentration and control the technique required was staggering to him, yet his father had performed it along with Kame-hame-ha. He doubted he'd be able to do it until he'd finished his Ki control training with Picollo.

Speaking of Piccolo…

Gohan realised that he hadn't seen his mentor since before Videl went into the Pendulum room, but chances were that he was around somewhere. So he turned back to Videl, no longer blushing. She seemed rather anxious, fiddling in her chair and rubbing her neck.

"Are you okay Videl?" he asked, giving her a worried glance.

"Yeah, I'm just a bit stiff," she said. "I guess I've been working hard lately and then I just stood still for a while."

Gohan nodded in understanding. Even if her mind was getting a work out, fighting people in the past, her physical body remains still. It made sense she would be a little stiff. He remembered how she'd mentioned massages, how she liked to go and get one because it helped her out. Maybe he should offer?

"There's something I've been meaning to ask you," said Videl. Her voice seemed uncertain though, as if she wasn't sure about what she was asking.

"Do you have a tail?"

Gohan's mind instantly blanked. What did he say to that?

Videl looked on as Gohan wordlessly opened and closed his mouth. Videl decided to take that as a yes.

"Urr, I don't mind you know, if you do. I just thought that your Dad in the past had a tail, but his Grandpa didn't know why. So I thought you might have one too."

Gohan gulped. Well no point lying to her. And if Great Grandpa Gohan didn't know the origin of his tail that meant that she couldn't be expecting him too.

"I used to have one," he sheepishly admitted. "It got permanently removed when I was a kid."

Videl gave him a grin.

"Well it must have been interesting to have a tail. Your Dad used it in his fighting. Kept trying to hit me in the face with it. It definitely made for an unusual spar when my opponent had five limbs to watch out for instead of four."

Gohan really wasn't sure where she was going with this conversation, and he had no idea how to talk about it either. All the same he decided to try.

"I don't remember much about having a tale," he said. "I had one up until I was four, but then it got yanked off. Then it grew back again, but it got cut off again shortly after. It never grew back again after that. I don't know why. I'm pretty sure my Dad lost his tale a few times, but it always grew back after a few months. He eventually had it removed permanently though."

Gohan really couldn't think of much else to say on the subject of tails. He had always wondered why his had never grew back. Goten's tail had been removed immediately when he was born. Same with Trunks. No need for raging Uzaruu's running around.

"Oh, why'd he do that?" asking Videl.

"Umm, well," said Gohan, not really sure how to answer. He couldn't tell her that it was to avoid any unwanted great aps mishaps. But it had to be something believable too.

"They were kind of a negative influence…"

And right then he figured out exactly how to get her off the topic.

"See, the tail secreted a lot of hormones and stuff that stimulated certain parts of the body and brain. It made us stronger but more animalistic too. Easier to anger and stuff. After weighing the advantages and disadvantages Dad decided having it removed was the best option."

He thought that would sound like an excellent reason. But apparently Videl didn't think so.

"But it made him stronger right? If it were me, I would have kept the tail." That, and she thought it was a little bit cute. She'd actually been hoping that Gohan had a tail as well. She wasn't sure what she'd have done if he did, but even so. If she ever got together with Gohan she could pet it and stuff.

And that thought led her straight back to an earlier event.

* * *

Things were not going as Truth had planned. He'd enlisted Seventeen to discreetly take out Vegeta. He didn't bother binding him, since he doubted there was a thing on Earth that could. Not if the boy, Gohan was anything to go by. Instead he'd made the simple plan of taking his wife and son hostage to prevent him from moving when he woke up, and then interrogating Bulma for her passwords and other much needed information. This of course would have been done by taking the child hostage. Things had gone well up until the Bulma part.

They had found a second woman here, who had beaten Andrew round the head with a frying pan, before twirling and delivering a similar blow between his legs. The man still hadn't fully recovered from when Videl had done something similar during their first attempt at kidnapping Hercule. They'd discovered a child with her, different from the one they were looking for. Too young for one thing, and his hair colour was wrong. Matty had picked the child up with his none broken arm and threatened to strangle the kid if she didn't calm down. This worked until the child child grabbed his finger with what looked like curiosity, and immediately snapped it, causing Matty to drop the child and howl in pain. The Woman hadn't been very happy when Matty had dropped her Baby, and quickly delivered a powerful blow with her frying pan, shattering Matty's mask and causing him to fall unconscious to the floor. Iscariot had found this hilarious and refused to help out. Not that Truth was expecting him too. Jude had quickly picked the child up, threatening it in a similar way to Matty, only the child didn't try to break her finger. Maybe because she was female. However although that did manage to stop the woman from attacking, she began yelling at the top of her lungs about Jude 'butchering the English language.'

He'd hopped things would be easier after that, having finally found the young Trunk's room and woken him up. He really should have realised he wouldn't be an ordinary child after the last one. He'd quickly jumped up, smashing his head into Bart's stomach, causing the man to drop to the ground in pain while he ran out of the room. John and Phil had given chase, but he'd later found Phil unconscious and John stuck in the laundry vat. He'd breathed a sigh of relief when his son Zack turned up holding the unconscious child with a bleeding temple. He probably should have scolded the boy for being so rough with a child, but then it had knocked down three fully grown men. So now he stood in front of a bound Bulma, along with the crazy Lady with the frying pan with both their children bound beside him. However only Peter, Zeb, Thomas, Alph, Jude, Iscariot and Zack stood beside him. Matthew was of tending to his broken finger, he wasn't sure where Simon was and the rest were unconscious. No this was not how things were supposed to go at all.

He'd allowed himself to glare at the small purpled haired child and the Banshee with the frying pan. Not like they could tell anyway.

"Well Miss Bulma this has taken exceedingly longer than I hoped it would but no matter. I was hoping you could do me a small favour."

"No," Bulma instantly replied.

Truth faltered, albeit briefly.

"I don't think you understand, Miss Briefs. I have here your first born child. Failure to comply will bring around some rather… nasty consequences for him."

Bulma just snorted.

"I think it's you who doesn't understand," Said Bulma. "If my Son has even a hair on his head damaged then his father is going to be pretty angry when he wakes up. And I honestly don't think I'd been able to stop him blowing up every single city on the planet trying to find you."

"So you admit that Your Husband can blow up cities. Well that's a start." Although he noticed some of his men fidget a little when they realised they may have incurred the wrath of such a person.

"I'm not admitting anything," Said Bulma. "Just that my husband has one hell of a temper. Oh and the Son family has a bit of an overly protective body guard."

Now that did peak his interest. Was she referring to the woman and her child? Now that he looked there were some features which were very similar to the previous world champion in the small black haired child. That would make this Son Gohan's family. But what did she mean by Bodyguard?

"She was referring to me."

Truth wipped round so fast he almost broke his neck with the action. There standing behind him, giving off almost no energy at all, was a large green man in a cloak and Turban, easily standing tall over the lot of them. And he looked really, really pissed.

Truth gave a sigh of near defeat.

"Oh dear."

'This is just not my day.'

**And we've come to the end of another chapter. I personally have never had an immediate family member die. A few great grandads who I saw once in a full moon but thats it. So I can't claim to fully understand the feeling of losing a parent and I don't think I want too, but it is something Gohan and Videl have in common. The past (or photo's) is the only place we can really see the dead, so I thought that the pendulum room has that potential. but half way through writing the scene I started thinking 'Oh my god this is just like that one bit from Harry Potter with the magic mirror'. So yes, that's all for now. I hope you can all find it in your hearts to review. Like every single one of you. Because, and I'm not going to lie,' I really want to beat Ai no Chikara. okay, that's it, r&R and peace out!**


	36. Second serving of a master's Rice

**Hey guys, guess who's back. Yup it's good old Ani and I bring to you a brand new capter. I'm really sorry it's taken so long, but Nel-chan's been really ill. If your wandering who Nel-chan is that would be my laptop. Seriously, I send her off to have her fixed, I get her back and something else is wrong with her. She's had like three different repair jobs. **

**Also because of this I have had problems replying to people, and I'm still through the process of checking my inbox for all the reviews. I realise I could just look at the reviews on the website but I actually have a special folder in my inbox where I can put all my reviews and read through them like a sado. **

**Well I've decided to copy of other people this week and have someone else read the disclaimer. And that person is… Vegeta!**

**Vegeta: What?**

**Could you read the disclaimer please?**

**Vegeta: No.**

**Umm pretty please.**

**Vegeta: "Fuck you. I'm the prince of all Saiyans. Not you fucking reading dog. Read your own disclaimer."**

**(Vegeta flys off)**

**Well guess I'm doing it myself after all.**

**Anisoul sadly does not own Dragonball Z. Akira Toriyama is a cunning prick who thwarts any plans I can come up with to obtain rights to his series. But ****we'll see how long he lasts.**

* * *

Piccolo's eyes were narrowed and locked on Truth's own, or at least on the eye holes in the mask. Truth was sweating nervously from behind his golden mask. He'd only factored Vegeta into his attempt on raiding Capsule Corp. He'd never expected Ma Junior, who he remembered as Son Goku's opponent during his final appearance at the World Martial Arts Tournament. But below all of the fear that and anxiety, he was feeling a few more cogs were whirling around in his head. Piccolo had been Goku's mortal enemy, as far as he could remember. He'd even tried to murder the man during the World Martial Arts Tournament Championship Round. Yet, he'd just admitted he was the Son's family bodyguard. Interesting indeed.

A whistle sound made itself known from behind Truth, breaking him out of his thoughts.

"He's big, he's green and looking mean. The Bogey man's at Capsule Corp!" chanted Iscariot enthusiastically from somewhere behind him. Truth appreciated the attempt at humour, he really did. But he honestly didn't think that getting this person, if he was a person, mad was the best idea. Truth observed how Ma Junior's eye ridge, for he had no brows, seemed to twitch.

"I thought you lived under my bed, what are you doing down here Mr Bogey man?" asked Iscariot in his usual cheerful voice. This time Ma Junior smiled. Not a nice smile though, Truth noted. More like a smile of a man who's about to do something he's _really_ going to enjoy, which spelled bad things for him.

"Well I got tired of waiting down there so I thought I'd just come out and kill you."

Iscariot didn't answer this since he honestly couldn't think of a way to answer it. Truth himself was having a rather tough time trying to figure a way out of this. That is, until Zack charged forward. He cocked back his right fist, readying a full-out punch and charged an energy blast in his left. Before Truth could scream no, he'd already delivered a staggering blow to Ma Junior's face. A staggering blow Ma Junior himself didn't seem to notice as he simply stood there, arms crossed having not even blinked at the blow. But Zack wasn't done. He swung his left hand around, delivering a fully-charged energy blast at point blank range right into Ma Junior's face. There was a brief flash of light, causing everyone to cover their eyes and then a large explosion. Truth himself spread both his legs wide, adopting a horse stance and threw both his arms in front of his face, so as not to be bowled over by the shockwave caused by the blast. Once he deemed he was alright, he lowered his arms and looked over to where the large cloud of smoke still stood. It remained for a little while before dissipating. Ma Junior still stood there, arms crossed with a frown across his face. The only piece of damage the blast had done that Truth could make out was a small black patch on Ma Junior's temple, which now that he looked more closely, might actually be the remains of a bit of his turban, which had been incinerated with Zack's attack. Just enough of the turban had been damaged to reveal a single antenna which stuck up from Piccolo's head, and the corners of a heavy looking metal plate which had been sealed inside the cloth of the turban, no doubt for training purposes. Truth did briefly entertain the idea that the turban also function as a helmet but quickly dismissed the idea.

Zack stood completely stunned, having expected his attack to have done at least some damage. But Ma Junior had yet to even look at him, keeping his beady eyes firmly locked on his father, no doubt in case he tried to escape during the blast. But once the shock had worn off, Zack began to feel something else. Rage. Pure unbridled rage. How _dare _this man ignore him! One day he'd be the strongest fighter in the world. _Him._ And even if he couldn't claim that title right this very moment he still knew he was strong. He still deserved acknowledgment. He deserved to have his existence noted. He still deserved respect!

Zack gave a yell of unbridled fury before charging once more. An aura of energy charged around him that caused Ma Junior's eyes to briefly widen. Truth noticed too. He could practically feel the hatred in his son's energy burning into his skin. He watched in bewilderment as Zack delivered a blow to Ma Junior's chest faster than his eyes could see. But he didn't stop there, he kept going. He rained blow after blow after blow. Kick after kick and punch after punch. Truth was actually surprised. Had he no idea his son was this strong? But it still wasn't good enough. Ma Junior didn't even let out a grunt as Zack continued to pound into him.

Zack quickly realised he's attacks were having no effect, so he quickly jumped back to try a different strategy.

"Die!" he yelled, his voice sounding oddly Vegeta like as he did so. Then, he started raining down energy blasts. Ma Junior was soon enveloped in the attacks as all of Capsule Corp shook beneath Zack's fury. Truth heard a yelp from behind him and turned to see the two mothers who he'd completely forgotten about, grab the kids in a protective embrace as dust began to fall from the ceiling, signalling its eventual collapse. He hadn't even realised he'd dropped the purple-haired kid though.

Soon, the shaking began to die down as Zack depleted all his energy, using all of it in his final blast. Truth watched as Zack fell to one knee. He was panting heavily, and Truth could only hope that his son had managed to do some damage. Only time would tell. Truth and the rest of Clarity waited with baited breath as the smoke and dust kicked up by Zack's attack began to die down, eventually revealing Ma Junior. His turban was now completely gone and his white cape seemed to be ruined and now hung in rags with a metal shoulder plate having fell to the floor beside him. But Ma Junior himself seemed no worse for wear, eyes still firmly locked on him. Truth felt all of his hope for escaping the situation deflate. Suddenly Ma Junior spoke two sinister words.

"My turn."

* * *

Videl was back in the Pendulum Room, the purple light made from the circle on the floor reflecting off her white shirt. Gohan was standing beside Dende and Mr Popo, a worried look on his face. Dende began to speak.

"Okay, your opponent this time will be slightly stronger Videl. Are you ready?"

Videl gave a nod of her head, her face now looking determined.

"Very well then. Please close your eyes Videl."

She did so, darkness covering her sight. She waited a moment before opening them again.

As expected, she was no longer in the Pendulum Room. Instead she seemed to be near the edge of a cliff, towering high over a jungle below her. The sun was just setting causing the tops of the tree's to glow red. She didn't allow herself to linger on the rather breath-taking sunset before her, she had more important things to do. Just a few hundred metres away, she could make out a Capsule house with the lights on. There was no doubt in her mind that she'd find her next opponent in there. So without waiting any longer she set off, quickly approaching the house. Once she reached the door she held out her hand and knocked loudly three times. She could hear some rumbling from inside, along with some clash of cutlery. She knocked again just for good measure.

"Yeah, yeah I hear yah, keep yer wig on. Darn kids are so impatient these days."

The voice sounded old, yet rather energetic at the same time. Withered by time yet not lacking life. And for some reason, it made a small amount of annoyance well up in her stomach. The voice was familiar too.

The door opened causing light to flood out briefly causing her to shield her eyes. When she looked again it was to the familiar form of Master Roshi, who she could feel was glaring at her from behind his sunglasses. His glare dissipated when he caught sight of her, and then he tilted his head as if regarding her.

"_Nah, too young."_

Having decided Videl was not molestable material, Roshi immediately asked the next question on his mind.

"Is there something you want missy?" he asked, with genuine curiosity in his voice.

"Err, an opponent?" she answered with uncertainty. Was she supposed to fight Master Roshi? Was she ready for that? She was barely stronger than child Goku before his training. There's no way she could beat Roshi yet.

"An opponent. You mean a sparring partner? What makes you think you can find someone like that here?"

"Umm your Master Roshi aren't you? Don't you have a student or a friend or someone I can fight?" she asked with uncertainty still clear in her voice. There was a chance that Roshi would just slam the door in her face. She was being rather rude after all, just walking up to the door and asking for a fight. She'd have to figure out a more polite way of going about this. But for now, she'd have to hope Roshi would be nice enough to not just slam the door on her.

"Well, you seem to be well informed," Master Roshi answered with a scowl. "But my pupils are really strong little missy. I don't think you'll be much of a challenge for them."

'_Okay screw polite.'_

"Look you old wind bat, I was told that I could fight someone strong if I came here, so you drag one of your pupils out right now so I can kick his ass or so help me I will grab that staff your holding and shove it so far up your ass you'll be wearing your rectum as a scarf!" she barked, whilst at the same time gaining a sudden surge of pride for her vocabulary. That was a good threat!

Master Roshi's mouth hung open for a few moments before he turned back into the house.

"GOKU THERE'S SOMEOONE AT THE DOOR FOR YOU!"

He turned back to glare at her from behind his sunglasses.

"Happy?"

Videl smiled sweetly at him.

"Thank you very much."

'_So I'm fighting Goku again? Dende said that my opponent was stronger this time, not different."_

Just as she suspected, Goku showed up at the door. He was a little taller now, but not by much. He was wearing his blue gi bottoms and a white vest. But there was another big difference about him as well. No matter where she looked at him from she couldn't see his tail.

"Umm, can I help you mister?" asked Goku.

Videl felt a vein bulge in her head.

"I told you last time Goku, I'm a girl," she seethed through clenched teeth.

"Last time? Do I know you Lady?" said Goku, conforming to this new information quickly.

Videl blinked. He didn't remember her? Oh that's right, the Pendulum Room doesn't actually send people back in time, but rather reconstructs it.

"Umm, no not really," answered Videl. "But forget that, I was hoping I could have a spar with you."

"What really!" yelled Goku in an excited voice. Videl had a suspicion if he still had his tail, it would be wagging.

"Yeah," said Videl, trying to stop the smile that was creeping onto her face.

"That's great!" he cried happily before running straight past her out the door.

"Krillin come watch this," came Master Roshi's voice. He soon appeared at the door followed by a little bald kid. Videl remembered Krillin from the Christmas party and the party before that at Capsule corp. This was obviously him, but a lot younger. Then Videl noticed a third person following them. A woman with long blue hair held up in a red ribbon with a green sleeveless top and tight jeans. The expression on her face was one of complete innocence and obliviousness, giving her the appearance of an airhead. Videl realised she had no clue who this was.

"Hey. Hey miss, are you ready yet?" came Goku's eager voice.

She turned back around to face him.

"Yeah just give me a sec. And my name's Videl."

* * *

Once again Truth found himself in a bit of a pickle. Ironic since he just found out the big green man's real name was Piccolo and not Ma Junior. Upon uttering the words 'my turn' Piccolo had immediately assaulted Zack, landing a pretty clean kick to Zack's stomach and sending him straight through one of Capsule Corp's reinforced walls. Alph was next, but he didn't last long either. He hadn't even got time to get his guard up before Piccolo had appeared behind him and punched straight down, driving Alph into a newly formed crater. Jude seemed to take that as her cue to jump on Piccolo's back and try stabbing him with a needle. It was a backup plan for taking out Vegeta, a sedative with enough concentration to knockout a rampaging elephant and the rest of his heard. Naturally, the needle broke on the green man's skin, who quickly shrugged Jude of and punched her through another wall. The entire time, Piccolo had not once took his eyes off Truth.

"You know if it makes you feel any better, I don't think that drug would have worked that well anyway. My organs aren't exactly human."

"Oh, so are you an alien then?" came Iscariot's annoyingly chipper voice from somewhere to the side. He hadn't once moved to help out, preferring to simply sit back and enjoy the show. "Because if you are, it sure would explain a lot. Like how Capsule Corp science is so advanced. Do they get it from you? We have to inform N.A.S.A they got it wrong. Their little green men from mars aren't that little. Well at least you've got an antenna, but your head is the wrong shape. And what kind of alien studies martial arts anyway? Aren't you supposed to be waving around ray guns and stuff?"

Piccolo finally turned away from Truth to throw an annoyed look at Iscariot. Zed took the opportunity to quickly grab an unconscious Jude from the pile of rubble she'd been punched into, and Peter emerged with an unconscious Zack thrown over his shoulder.

"Leader, the truth of the situation is that we need to escape," said Peter.

Truth nodded, but he wasn't happy with it. They couldn't escape with everyone unconscious. He'd have to leave most of them behind, along with Iscariot. Let them deal with the man for a while. None of them knew who he was behind his mask anyway, and if they get handed over to the police, it will be a simple task breaking them out of Jail.

"Get ready to run," Truth whispered to Pete, who nodded.

Piccolo had been listening intently to the conversation whilst he had been glaring. He wasn't going to let them get away.

"Hey I recognise those looks," said Iscariot happily, whilst pointing to Truth and Pete. How he managed to recognise a look from behind their masks is anyone's guess. "You guys are planning to run away aren't you? Is that what you were whispering about? I don't think it's going to work though. This guy's ears are really big and they twitched a little while you were whispering. I'm pretty sure he can hear every word you say."

Piccolo was looked at Iscariot with surprise. The guy was smarter than he looked… sounded… whatever.

Truth growled to himself. Iscariot had given them away. Although if he was right, then Piccolo had been listening from the beginning and would have easily stopped them from doing anything. He was surprised though, when there was a flash of Light and a wall exploded. Dust quickly filled the room, blocking Truth and Peter from Piccolo's sight.

"NOW!" roared Truth, though he had no idea where the explosion had come from. Both he and Pete jumped quickly through the wall, followed by Zeb and Iscariot. Thomas tried to come too, but to do so he had to run passed Piccolo, who lashed out, his hand coming out of nowhere to grab Thomas by his face. Piccolo's grasp was strong enough to shatter the mask on his face and he was flung heavily into a wall, being quickly knocked unconscious.

Piccolo quickly turned to Chichi and Bulma, checking that both females and their kids were okay. He could take off after Truth and his gang, he was certainly fast enough to catch up, but he could already tell there was no point in chasing them since from what he could tell, they probably weren't going to escape anyway.

Truth quickly emerged from the smoke into a corridor, followed by Pete, Zeb and Iscariot. He looked for where the origin of the blast had come from. He noticed a rather large hole in the roof. From the looks of it, someone had blasted straight down, and the blast had come all the way down to the ground floor before it exploded, taking the walls on either side with it. A quick look told Truth that the other room to get blasted open was a dead end, so instead he turned to continue running down the corridor. He knew they didn't have long before Piccolo was on them. Up ahead, he saw a closed door. He grunted to himself in annoyance. He didn't have time to be opening doors. So instead, he charged a blast in his hand before throwing it, straight away destroying the door. Smoke picked up and Truth ran straight through it, immediately bouncing off of whatever was on the other side.

Truth landed hard on his backside, confused as to what had stopped him. Whatever he had run into, had been extremely solid. He'd been running with enough force to smash through a brick wall, but whatever he'd hit didn't give an inch. Pete, Zeb and Iscariot all stopped behind him, with Pete stretching out a hand and helping Truth to his feet. Together, they all stared as the smoke began to dissipate and they could see exactly what Truth had ran into. Eventually, they could make out something very blue. With Black spiky hair and a really pissed of look on his face.

"Tell me," said Vegeta as he glared at each one individually, causing all of them to break out into a heavy sweat. "Have you ever heard the tale of Goldie-locks and the three bears?"

* * *

Videl was having a really tough time. Goku had lost none of his creativity. He once again quickly picked up on her movements. But she wasn't going to underestimate him this time, and nor did she have a fifth limb to deal with. Taking a few pointers from her last fight, she began experimenting, seeing what she could do. She managed to land a heavy blow when she charged a lot of ki to her feet and then released it all at once, causing her to shoot forwards. She'd taken the inspiration from the last fight where Goku had used a ball of ki to propel himself forward, only she just used her feet. She found it simpler that way. Now, she had another idea.

She skidded backwards after blocking a heavy kick from Goku before holding her hand out in front of her. Concentrating hard, she moulded her ki around her face. She'd only managed to hit Goku with ki blasts at close range, and even then she'd never had enough time to charge one up enough to do a lot of damage. Goku had stopped to watch as her fist took on a yellow and pinkish glow.

"Here I come!" she yelled, running forwards with her ki enhanced fist cocked behind her, ready to lash out, but Goku had other ideas. He jumped backwards and charged something in his hands in mid-air. When he landed he cupped both hands to his side and began to chant.

"Kame-hame-HA!"

He shot out a bright blue beam. It was a lot like the beam he'd used at the end of the last match, only this one was a lot more stable, blue and had a kind of twisting aura too it, which she figured amplified the damage given by the blast.

Deciding straight away that she did not want to be hit by that, she had to quickly decide what to do. It was too late to dodge and there was no way she was going to try blocking it. So with no other option left, she punched it. Her ki covered fist collided with the front of the beam. As it made contact, there was a screeching noise and then the beam seemed to burst around her. It kept on coming and Videl dug her feet in, determined not to be pushed back. The air itself seemed to screech with energy until finally, the ki in her hand began to flicker. There was an explosion and the beam ended just as Videl was propelled backwards. She landed hard, and skidded in the dirt until she was just a few feet away from the edge of the cliff. For a few moments, she didn't move. But then she let out a cough.

Videl was really hurting. She held out her fist above her. The fingerless glove she'd been wearing had been pretty much vaporised although there was still a remnant of it around her wrist. Her hand looked scorched and it was shaking badly. She let out another cough before she rolled onto her front. She put both hands out and pushed herself to her feet, noticing that it took a lot of effort. She turned around to face Goku once more and again, she adopted a fighting stance.

Master Roshi had been rather shocked with the fight so far. He'd expected Goku to completely steam roll this girl. He hadn't chosen Krillin because he'd probably make a fuss over her being a girl, but now he realised it was a good job he hadn't. This girl would have _destroyed_ Krillin. Hell, she'd been fighting on par with Goku for a full fifteen minutes now. Goku was noticeably ecstatic to have such an opponent. What surprised Master Roshi even more though, was the girl's usage of ki. She was no master manipulator by any means, but she was versatile. She took good advantage of it, seemingly powering up certain parts of her body for a quick boost in performance. The change of pace was sudden and came as a surprise, leaving little time to react. Of course, Goku had adjusted and even copied some of her techniques. He'd learned a regular ki blast, since before he could only use the kameha-meha wave, that last technique the girl used was interesting. Dangerous, but interesting. It packed a lot of punch, pun very much intended, but if it had hit, the explosion would have rebounded back to her, doing just as much damage to her arm as it would do to Goku. Decided he'd seen enough, he decided to call the match.

"Alright, alright that's enough," he said, gaining the attention of both young fighters.

"Aww, but master, I wanted to fight some more," whined Goku.

Videl nodded her head, indicating that she too wished to continue, although inwardly she just wanted to collapse.

"No, I think that's enough for now Goku. You too, missy. You may talk a tough game, and you walk one too, but even if most of the blast was diverted, you can't be in too good of a condition after taking a kameha-meha wave head on. Anymore and you could die."

Videl pouted angrily. No way would she die. But none the less, she conceded, dropping her fighting stance completely. She trotted over to Master Roshi before collapsing to the ground, leaning her back against the wall. Goku trotted over as well, his chest now bare after Videl had burned his vest away with a ki blast. His bottoms had seen better days too. He sat down next to Videl.

"Wow miss, you're really good," said Krillin also coming over. "Do you have a master?"

Lungs still burning from the match, Videl decided to just nod instead of answer.

Master Roshi who saw the girl nod was disappointed. He was going to offer to train her alongside Krillin and Goku. But if she already had a master then he couldn't.

"So what's you masters name. If he's strong I'd really like to fight him," said Goku with a happy look on his face.

'_Okay time to go, _Videl thought to herself. But then she realised that she had no idea how to get out of here. Last time, she'd just lost consciousness. After a few seconds of deliberation she finally came to a conclusion.

"Well, when in Rome," she wheezed out loud.

She stood up turned around, and smashed her head straight of the house wall.

**And here we are at the end. I still got a bit more to do on Breaker 2. I don't think I'm satisfied with it as it is now. As people have pointed out I set a high bar with the first chapter, so the second can't be any less. **


End file.
